The Iron-Blooded Dragon (WIP)
by Sir Ludwig
Summary: Mars is an unforgiving and cruel world where the weak die and the strong live to see another day. Among the poverty and chaos, Issei Hyoudou learns that if he wants to protect those he loves and hold dearly, the young man must be willing to throw away his humanity for such power.
1. Fateful Reunion

_**THIS IS A WARNING:**_ **I don't own a single damn thing being used in this story. Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans and Highschool DxD belong to their owners/creators!**

* * *

 _ **EPISODE ONE: FATEFUL REUNION**_

* * *

 **MARS, CHRYSE REGION**

 **MIDDLE OF THE AFTERNOON**

"I still can't believe how nothing has changed since the last time I visited Mars..."

Rias Gremory frowned at the sight of protestors who have gathered in the city square of the Chryse Region. Her eyes could see thousands of protestors for as far as the eye could see, and all of them appeared to be carrying signs with various messages written on them. Some even went as far as writing the message on their own bodies, a clear sign of defiance towards those in the government.

On the other hand, her eyes found themselves looking at the numerous soldiers wearing black armor and carrying assault rifles in their hands and being supported by the large, crimson-colored armored vehicles known as Mobile Workers. The beautiful redhead recognized these men as members of Gjallarhorn, an organization who had become synonymous with peace, truth, and justice as they were responsible for ending the destructive conflict known as the Calamity War.

Turning her head away from the window, Rias found herself questioning Gjallarhorn even more than before. She sighs, "Kudelia may have a valid point when she spoke at the Nachois July Assembly."

"Well, Kudelia has never been one to hold back her opinion," someone sitting across from the daughter of the Gremory family said, reminding the redhead of their friend's stubborn nature. Rias was well-known for many things in life from her intelligence, being well-mannered, and her fierce nature of getting whatever she desires. However, the biggest thing was her unparalleled beauty.

Her long, gorgeous crimson hair was a common trait on her father's side of the family with the most distinctive feature being a single hair strand that appears to stand on its own. Besides her hair, Rias also possessed a pair of lovely teal eyes which would cause anyone to get lost in by just staring into them. Most prominent of all was her curvaceous figure that appeared to be an hourglass-like shape, a body no man could resist or cause even the most beautiful women to become green with envy.

The redhead shook her head and gave her thoughts on this situation, "Akeno, there's a difference between being stubborn and not being able to see reality."

Sitting on the seat opposite of Rias was another young woman of similar beauty, who had long, dark hair that seemed to be tied using an orange ribbon while having a pair of violet eyes filled with playfulness. There was also her figure being of a similar shape to the young woman across from her. Akeno Himejima seemed to giggle at her friend's response before giving a reply, "It's amazing how far Kudelia is willing to go to help the people of Mars, don't you think, Rias?"

"Yes, it's quite admirable for her to do something like this," agreed Rias, who saw the potential problems that Kudelia could cause by going through with her plan. Though, Rias found herself disgusted with the treatment of the people of Mars.

These two young women were sent to Mars with one goal in mind; convince Kudelia to change her mind about going to Earth to speak with the Prime Minister of Arbrau, one of the four massive economic blocks which dominated the planet. After the Nachois July Assembly, where their friend since childhood named Kudelia Aina Bernstein, gave a speech about the poverty levels on Mars and how children were being mistreated as well as being taken advantage by employers on a daily basis. Her speech led to a surge in riots and demonstrations across the planet.

Everyone from Mars to Earth could tell a revolution was on the horizon.

This was the reasoning behind Rias and Akeno's visit to Mars as they were asked by the former's older brother to speak with Kudelia. All of this was because of her family's past, Rias comes from the powerful and wealthy Gremory family, who have made their stamp on history by giving birth to legendary commanders ever since the creation of Gjallarhorn over three hundred years ago. However, the Gremory family isn't a part of the Seven Stars, the group of families who controls the actions of Gjallarhorn with an iron fist.

No, Gjallarhorn made the Gremory, Phenex, and a few other well-established names follow the orders of the Seven Stars as they feared the potential strength of those below them.

On the other side of things, Akeno is the only daughter to a legendary Mobile Suit pilot by the name of Baraqiel Inada, who is a distinguished member of the Grigori, a faction who works closely with Gjallarhorn and helps produce new technology in the form of experimental Mobile Suit designs and provide excellent pilots. In short, these two young women were coming from prestigious families or organizations who expect them to hold up the legacy associated with their name.

Something the two of them intend on fulfilling when the day comes for them to carry these names.

As the armored car past by another city block, Rias continued to ponder on what her older brother was asking of them, but was it wrong of Kudelia to fight for the Martian people?

It was a question Rias found herself asking more and more each day. Although, this would be the first time that she or Akeno have seen Kudelia in the last few years. Rias certainly felt guilty since the only reason she was going to see her friend since childhood was to convince her of the danger she would face by continuing to walk down this path.

Even if it means giving up on the people of Mars, Rias didn't want to see her friend killed by those in power.

Sure, it was selfish for Rias to think like this, but the redhead always knew this about herself. Ever since being given this task, her nightmares have been filled with watching Kudelia being killed by a sniper, blown up in an explosion, or attacked by an angry mob of people, the result was always the same; Kudelia dying while trying to fulfill her dreams.

"Rias, are you alright?"

Looking up, Rias saw Akeno looking at her with concern in the eyes of the raven-haired girl. The redhead smiled back at her best friend and shook her head, "I'm okay, Akeno. You don't need to worry about me."

"You were thinking about Kudelia, weren't you?" Akeno asked, who wasn't going to accept any of her best friend's attempts to change the subject.

A frown took its place on the redhead's face, "I wasn't thinking about her," Rias replied, wanting to move on from this conversation. "All I was thinking about was what we were going to say to her. We haven't seen her since the last time we visited Mars a few years ago. Now, we're coming back with the intentions of telling her to move on from this dream."

"But, I doubt she'll listen to us," Akeno said, bringing up the painful reality for them.

Ever since becoming friends, the two young women understood one thing about Kudelia and that was her stubbornness to push on even if things got tough. Once getting herself wrapped up in the independence movement, things have only gotten worse as Gjallarhorn has been keeping a close eye on Mars while pressing their control on other parts of space such as the many colonies surrounding Earth.

Things were happening all across the solar system, and Rias knew Kudelia was responsible for all these changes.

Rias crossed her legs and sat back against the seat. Silently, the redhead acknowledged what Akeno was trying to say. Honestly, Rias finally understood what it felt like to be against someone like Kudelia, especially given the circumstances surrounding her.

"It's like dealing with Sona all over again," Rias quietly muttered to herself, remembering her friend/rival from years ago.

Despite Kudelia's stubborn nature, her parents were quite odd to the daughter of the Gremory family. Her father's name was Norman, and he was the very definition of a coward as he couldn't seem to be able to handle the situation with his daughter. The man even went as far as traveling all the way to Earth and started begging Zeoticus and Venelana, Rias's parents, to help him. Rias was sure now that all Norman cared about was maintaining the Bernstein family name.

Rias was disgusted that Norman seems to hardly care for his daughter. The same thing could be applied to Akeno as the raven-haired woman saw him nothing more than a maggot to be stepped on.

As for Kudelia's mother, she seems to hardly care about anything in general. Frankly, the two young women came to the conclusion about Kudelia's mother as it looked like she only married Norman for the money and fame associated with being a member of the Bernstein family. It was sad to see Kudelia have parents who hardly cared for her existence, which would lead to her becoming a symbol of the independence movement.

Seeing the rather serious expression on Rias's face, Akeno made a comment to help lighten the mood in the car, "Kudelia is sure taking this rebellious teenager act to an entirely new level. Most kids would try to be independent or do things against their parent's wishes like us..." Akeno said, who was relieved to see the rather small smile growing on her best friend's face. "...I'm actually jealous of her now."

"Akeno," Rias chided, shaking her head at the poor joke. "Don't make light of this."

The raven-haired girl nodded, "Of course, Rias. I just didn't want to see such a serious expression on your face. It might scare off all the boys who might like you," Akeno explained with a sly grin on her face, provoking a response from Rias as a flush of embarrassment rose to her cheeks.

"A-A-Akeno! Do-Don't say s-such things!" exclaimed Rias, trying to remain serious while scolding her friend.

It was only made worse when she saw Akeno grinning like a Cheshire cat. Soon, the raven-haired women continued to mercilessly tease the redhead about not being able to find a boyfriend until Rias decided to flat-out ignore her friend's remarks. This ended shortly afterward as Akeno decided she had her fun with Rias and things returned to normal as silence filled the car again.

Rias looked out the window, seeing how the landscape went from being large buildings primarily owned by big businesses to gigantic estates which seem to have acres of well-maintained land surrounding them. They drove past a few of them before arriving at the front gates of a massive home, which appeared to resemble a castle from a time long forgotten. It didn't take long for the iron gates to creak open, allowing for the armored car to enter the premise.

Immediately, the car drove along the driveway made from cobblestone until reaching the home of the Bernstein family. As the car came to a stop in front of the home, the driver turned the engine off and stepped outside. He walked over and opened the door for the two young women. Rias and Akeno remembered seeing the girl's home when they first came to visit, but they hadn't realized that it was this big.

Soon, their attention was focused on someone coming down the stairs.

It was a woman who appeared to be in her late twenties with neatly kept, dark hair and a pair of blue eyes which were filled with nothing but boredom and seriousness. She was also wearing what appeared to be a maid outfit of some kind. Rias was the first to recognize the older woman, remembering her name from long ago.

"F-Fumitan?" Rias said, letting the name slip from her mouth. "Is that you?" she asked.

The woman known as Fumitan nodded before giving a slight bow to the two young women, "Yes, it's always a joy to see the two of you again after so many years have passed. If you're looking for Ms. Kudelia, she's currently speaking with her mother in the indoor garden at the moment. Stay close behind and I will take you there, Ms. Gremory and Ms. Inada."

Rias winced at hearing Fumitan addressing Akeno by her middle name. When she looked over at her best friend, Rias saw the smile on Akeno's face faltering from hearing that name. The raven-haired woman then spoke up, a smile still present on her face but one of the warmth, "Fumitan, please address me by my last name?"

Meanwhile, the older woman didn't seem to care all that much and nodded, "My apologies, Ms. Himejima."

"Thank you, Fumitan."

Once that matter was quickly resolved, Fumitan told them to follow her as she would take them to where Kudelia was. Rias always remembered hearing about the wealth of the Bernstein family from her parents and was taught about their deep ties to the birthplace of humanity ever since space travel became a reality, even being one of the main supporters of colonizing the other worlds in the solar system.

From trade to construction, the Bernstein family had basically built Mars into being a pivotal part of the economy of the Earth Sphere. A feat which impressed officials in governments across the world and Gjallarhorn of all factions.

As they walked through the hallways, the two of them were utterly amazed by the architecture, ranging from the vaulted ceiling to the intricately designed marble columns holding up the second floor of the home, and various other details around the estate. There were even numerous paintings of the previous members of the Bernstein family, from the earliest members to the latest ones in Kudelia, her father, and her mother.

After what seemed like a few minutes, three of them reached a pair of wooden doors. Fumitan stopped and faced Rias and Akeno, "If you would be so kind as to wait here for Ms. Kudelia."

The two of them nodded, respecting the privacy of their friend as she was most likely having a conversation with her mother.

Rias walked over to the window and looked down into the courtyard, seeing a few gardeners working out in the searing heat of the sun and looked as if they're on their last legs. ' _Doesn't matter where you go_ ,' thought Rias, realizing how wrong this scene looked to her. ' _These people are suffering..._ '

Seeing the crestfallen expression on her best friend's face, Akeno walked up to her friend and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Maybe...your brother and everyone else doesn't see the full picture here. We've been on Mars for a few days, but have seen so much that's wrong on this world."

"They don't see it," Rias muttered in anger, her emotions starting to get the best of her. "How can my brother and everyone else expect people to live like this? I genuinely want to believe my family cares about those who are being treated as if they're slaves. Yet, there are others who appear enjoy how things are going on this world."

Hearing her words, Akeno knew how Rias felt about all this. They've known each other for nearly ten years, and Akeno has been grateful to Rias for being her friend, and, more importantly, being someone she could rely on for when things got tough. Now, Akeno wanted to do the same for Rias, who appeared to be in that frame of mind at the moment.

"Ri-"

Suddenly, they heard the large, oak doors creak open and revealed another young woman. She was around the same age as Rias and Akeno, but her appearance was completely different from either of them. The girl had long, blonde hair that went down to the middle of her back and a pair of bright violet eyes filled with innocence and hope. It was also paired up with a simple red dress with a few accents of white on it.

Her name was Kudelia Aina Bernstein, the only child of the Bernstein family.

Just as Kudelia closed the door behind her, the blonde turned around and was about to call out to Fumitan until her eyes found themselves looking at two people she hadn't expected to see. The frown that was on her face, suddenly, became a giant smile, "Rias! Akeno! I didn't know you guys were coming."

The two girls smiled back at their friend. Out of nowhere, Kudelia rushed forward and enveloped the two of them in a bearhug.

"You guys should have told me ahead of time," Kudelia said, who was jovial to see her oldest friends. She then released them from the hug and looked at them, "I would have tried to prepare something beforehand."

While Kudelia was excited at the prospect of seeing Rias and Akeno, it was quite strange of them to come all this way to Mars without saying anything in advance.

Rias was the first to speak up, "I-It's nice to see you again too, Kudelia. How have you been?" the redhead asked, hoping to delay the inevitable conversation about what Kudelia has been doing these last few months.

"I've been doing well," Kudelia beamed, who didn't seem to notice how nervous Rias and Akeno looked. She turned to her maid/older sister figure, "Um, Fumitan, could you please prepare some tea for us."

Without saying a word, the maid merely nodded and left the three girls on their own. Just as Fumitan left, the young blonde woman looked back at her friends and motioned towards the hallway, "Follow me. We can head to the courtyard."

Deciding it would be best to sit down and talk about this news, Akeno and Rias followed Kudelia through her home, listening to her questions and answering them as they go alone, hoping to avoid this discussion altogether. Continuing to walk past numerous rooms and servants, who Kudelia knew by their names as she greeted them.

Walking down into the courtyard, they could feel the sun beating down on them. They walked over to a nearby glass table until they heard something shatter nearby. It looked like one of the gardeners had dropped one of the ceramic vases containing flowers. At first, Rias and Akeno were taken back by the appearance of the gardener as he looked to be no older than fourteen.

Rias and Akeno frowned as they saw the boy starting to panic as he began picking up the pieces of ceramic until he seems to reel back in pain and looked at his hand.

The three young women saw the blood dripping from his hand. Before anyone could say a word, Kudelia walked over to the boy, who looked quite fearful of what might happen until she kneeled down next to him and asked him, "Are you alright?"

"U-Uh?"

He was expecting to be punished since he was known around here. Kudelia reached for the hand with the cut before the boy pulled it back. The blonde woman spoke in a gentle tone, "It's okay, I'm gonna hurt you. I just wanna see how bad it is."

Swallowing the saliva in his throat, the boy reluctantly let Kudelia see his hand. She frowned at the sight of the cut, "You could get an infection if it isn't treated properly."

Out of the corner of her eye, Kudelia noticed Fumitan placing a tray with a tea kettle and a few ivory teacups on the table. She looked back at the boy and smiled, "Let's go, I'll ask Fumitan if she could get this cleaned up for you. Don't worry about the pot either, I don't think my mother or father would notice too much."

Unable to say another word, the boy was pulled up by Kudelia, who dragged the boy over to Fumitan.

"Fumitan," Kudelia said in a nervous tone. "Could you treat Gasper's cut, please?"

The older woman glanced over at the boy with an uncaring look in her eyes before looking back at Kudelia and sighing, "Very well then. Gasper, if you could follow me, we'll see what can be done about that cut of yours."

Once that matter was settled, the three of them sat at the glass table and Kudelia began to pour the tea while Rias and Akeno were still thinking about what they just saw from their friend. The boy was nothing more than a worker and, yet, Kudelia showed concern for him and even had him treated for a wound. How someone like Kudelia could be so kind and sympathetic?

Her parents seem to be the worst kind of people imaginable, yet their daughter has dedicated her life to freeing Mars from the shackle Earth has placed on the planet.

"Rias, Akeno, I was wondering what brought you guys to Mars?" Kudelia inquired as she was pouring tea for her two closest friends.

Akeno smiled and waved her off, "Dear, we don't need a reason to see our friend, do we?"

"Don't get me wrong! I'm happy to see the both of you! I truly am..." Kudelia quickly replied as she handed a cup of tea to Rias before finishing what she was gonna say to Akeno. "...I-It's just, I haven't seen either of you in years. Makes me curious as to why you guys suddenly visited me."

As Rias took a sip of tea, the redhead was still trying to find the proper words. Much to her annoyance, Rias knew Kudelia was an intelligent person and would be able to figure out if she was lying to her. Certainly made things more difficult for her and Akeno.

Putting the ivory teacup down on the table, Rias spoke up, "Kudelia."

"Yes, what is it, Rias?"

Taking a moment to gather herself, Rias had a serious expression on her face as she started speaking, "Look, Kudelia, we've been friends since childhood and I've wanted to come back to Mars with the intention of seeing you. Unfortunately, your father traveled to Earth a few months ago and spoke to my father."

Kudelia lost her smile and soon turned into a frown, the girl didn't say anything for what seemed like hours.

Worried about their friend, Akeno reached over and placed a hand on Kudelia's shoulder, "Are you alright?"

At first, the girl didn't respond to the question until she raised her head up and looked at Akeno with a solemn expression. Kudelia shook her head, "What did my father say?" she asked in a quiet tone.

Right now, the guilt was eating away at Rias, especially when seeing the expression on her friend's face. Pushing her guilt down, Rias needed to finish explaining, "Your father was concerned about your...recent activity with the independence movement. He asked my father if I and Akeno could travel to Mars and to speak with you about this situation. And listen, Kudelia, I-I know how important this is t-"

"No, you _don't_. Neither of you knows what I've dealt with."

Out of nowhere, Kudelia caught of Rias and looked at the two of them with a mixture of different emotions from anger to disappointment to betrayal. Rias and Akeno were supposed to be her friends, people who would support her. Now, they were trying to get in the way of her dreams of freeing the Martian people from the stranglehold Earth has on them.

' _I worked my entire life to reach this point..._ ' Kudelia thought, reminding herself of all the countless nights she spent reading textbooks, files, and anything else she could use to help find a solution. She even had the fortune of going to college and excelling for someone her age. Everything was building up to this meeting with the Prime Minister of Arbrau, and nothing was going to stop her.

Kudelia gently removed Akeno's hand from her shoulder, "Do either of you even know how bad it is on Mars right now? There are children even younger than Gasper, who are working for next to nothing and the number of child soldiers has soared in recent years. I don't know what's happened in the last few years, but if you two have become people are willing to stand by and do nothing while an entire planet of people suffers... then you truly aren't my friends."

Just as she finished going on her tangent, the young woman stood up from the chair and was about to walk away until Rias called out to her.

"Wait, Kudelia!"

However, the girl ignored her words and left them alone in the courtyard, leaving Akeno and Rias in shock of what they just heard. Less than a moment later, Rias sighed in frustration, "Let's call my brother...let him know what happened."

' _Things went from bad to worse..._ ' the redhead thought, realizing how disastrous this meeting went with Kudelia.

 **X-X-X**

 **A FEW MINUTES LATER**

As Kudelia walked away from the courtyard, she was closely followed by her personal maid/caretaker and someone who she's come to trust more than her own parents. Even being more trustworthy than her two friends since childhood. It was disheartening for Kudelia to admit something as painful as that.

While they were walking through the hallway, Kudelia began letting her true feelings run wild.

"Rias, Akeno, and my mother are simply ignoring the truth," Kudelia said, growing frustrated with her mother's lackadaisical attitude towards anything outside of this house. Meanwhile, it's become worse as her friends are listening to their orders and don't seem to be questioning them at all. It was reaching a point where the girl wondered if any of them were aware of what was going on around Mars. "The worst part is that my mother nor my friends don't even try to understand what is going on out there."

Kudelia shook her head, "I never want to be like that."

"I want to see and feel the truth," she stated to Fumitan, who remained quiet and allowed the daughter of the Bernstein to continue letting her feelings out. Even after hearing that, it made Fumitan wonder about the choice of people she decided on to take her to Earth. What better way to show the people of Earth the kind of influence they've had then having a group of child soldiers escorts her to Earth?

Fumitan voiced her question, "Is that why you choose them as your escorts, young miss?" she asked.

Kudelia stopped and faced Fumitan, "Yes. These irregular child soldiers were born out of the Earth Sphere's long rule. They embody the problems that currently burden Mars. By interacting with them, I hope to at least share some of their pain."

However, Fumitan couldn't help but remind her about yesterday's incident, "Young miss, I do hope you understand that these child soldiers aren't the only ones who embody the problem facing the Martian people."

Upon hearing those words, the young woman's face grew solemn as she knew what incident that Fumitan pointed out to her.

An incident where Kudelia realized how harsh Mars could be...

* * *

 _ **Mobile Suit Gundam: Tekkadan's Iron-Blooded Dragon**_

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 **EARTH, OCEANIAN FEDERATION**

 **A FEW HOURS LATER**

Traveling through downtown Bejing was a column of black, armored SUVs carrying a few important individuals who were attending a meeting on this chilly winter night. Sitting inside one of them was a man who appeared to be around his late-twenties with shoulder length, crimson hair and was wearing an intricately designed military uniform with the Gremory symbol on it. He rubbed his teal eyes as he continued looking a file filled with information that was to be addressed at this meeting tonight.

"Sirzechs," a voice called out to the man with crimson hair. "My love, looking at that file isn't going to help anyone."

Facing the man known as Sirzechs was a beautiful woman who appeared to be around the same age as him. Her long, silver hair was tied into a few small braids as her silver eyes looked at her husband with concern. The woman's outfit was quite strange as she was wearing what appeared to be a blue and white French maid outfit with long sleeves and a white maid headband over her head, with red lipstick as a cosmetic accessory.

She reached over and placed a hand on his knee, forcing him to look away from the file and into the gorgeous eyes of his loving wife. That's all it took for the man before putting the file to the side and rubbing his eyes with his hand.

"One look... that's all it takes," Sirzechs muttered before smiling at his wife. "You always seem to remind the reason why I married you that day, Grayfia."

Usually, such words would be met with a kiss or affection from his wife, however, this isn't the case as the silver-haired woman reached over and pinched his cheeks quite hard. It didn't take long for Sirzechs to swat away her hand and rubbed the spot where his wife pinched him. To those who knew the married couple personally, it sufficed to say they were a strange pair of husband and wife. However, no one could deny how much the two loved each other.

Enough to the point where they had a child named Milicas shortly after getting married.

As the column of vehicles drove past numerous buildings, Sirzechs had always wanted to visit the Oceanian Federation, especially nations like China and Japan. Unfortunately, he's been busy with the recent issues happening in the Earth Sphere as numerous members of Gjallarhorn have been getting nervous ever since the appearance of Kudelia Aina Bernstein.

The young woman was able to spark a fuse which seems to be ticking toward a revolution. Now, Gjallarhorn was scrambling to prepare themselves for a possible rebellion on a planetary scale.

With the tension rising in the solar system, Sirzechs has been hard at work, trying his best to activate any Mobile Suits he could find for the private contractors who work for their family. He knew that conflict was coming and for the Gremory family to be safe throughout this delicate situation, he was also looking into possible alliances with other factions and families spread across the Earth and in space.

Hence the reason behind this meeting in downtown Bejing.

"I really did hope Kudelia would listen to Rias and Akeno," Sirzechs said as he looked outside the window, seeing the buildings flying past them. "Looks like it only backfired for us, especially for my little sister and her best friend."

Grayfia sighed, "What did you expect to happen, dear?" she inquired, wanting to understand her husband's reasoning for sending her younger sister-in-law as well as her best friend to Mars.

"Something good for once," admitted Sirzechs with little enthusiasm in his voice, who was feeling the pressure from his parents to resolve this issue with Kudelia and even getting more attention than usual from the Seven Stars to help calm down the economic blocks. He was being tugged in several different directions on a daily basis. Honestly, he was getting sick and tired of dealing with so much, but he refused to accept defeat and kept pushing onward.

Taking a good look at her husband from where she was sitting, Grayfia understood that Sirzech's job was quite strenuous with how often he's been needing to travel between Gjallarhorn's Earth Headquarters to meet with the Seven Stars and heading off to meet with officials from the various economic blocks to settle issues as the Gremory family has quite a few business and military ties spread across the entire globe.

So whenever he did have the chance to come home and be with his family, Grayfia always did her best to make her husband's life a bit easier.

' _Still... I wish he could go a bit easier on me_ ,' an annoyed Grayfia thought, who was still sore after her most recent nights with Sirzechs. Deciding to put those thoughts away, for the time being, Grayfia got up from her seat and sat down right next to her husband, who wondered what his wife was doing right now. While he wasn't against what Grayfia had just done, Sirzechs decided to put his arm around his wife and pulled her closer to him. He looked at her with an expression akin to curiosity.

The silver-haired woman raised her hand up and placed over her husband's chest, right over his heart, "I know you've been dealing with quite a lot of work, dear. And I know I sometimes may get a bit... strict with you, but I do want you to know how much I appreciate what you're doing, Sirzechs."

A smile found its way onto Sirzechs as he placed his hand on top of Grayfia's. Without needing to say a word to each other, the two leaned closer together until their lips met. It lasted for less than a few moments, but it was enough for the two of them.

Sirzechs raised his hand and placed it on her cheek, "If I had the choice of choosing between you or the world..." he stared into the same silver-eyes he fell in love with all those years ago, "...You're all I would ever need in my life, Grayfia. The woman I've loved since before I even knew what love was."

Even in the low light, the crimson-haired man could see the light shade of pink on his wife's cheeks. It didn't take long for Grayfia to clear her throat and try to put on a stoic expression. However, it was enough for Sirzechs to find amusing and let out a soft laugh. Meanwhile, Grayfia saw her husband's mood change from earlier.

Seeing her husband happy was more than enough for Grayfia, who smiled as well.

As the two eventually fell into a comfortable silence, the silver-haired wife eventually found herself leaning against her husband again as the temptation of sleep was too much for her to resist. On the other hand, Sirzechs looked at his watch and realized they still had another hour before they reached the hotel where he was scheduled to meet with the leaders of the Grigori, Serafall, and a few other important individuals who have similar interest like Sirzechs.

' _If you can't beat 'em_ ,' Sirzechs remembered an old saying from long ago, ' _...Join them._ '

 **X-X-X**

 **THE WHITE LOTUS HOTEL**

 **AN HOUR LATER**

"I suggest you wake up, Sirzechs," a voice said, calling out to the passengers in back seat.

Upon hearing the voice of his long-time bodyguard, Sirzechs woke up from his short nap as he felt the car come to a complete stop. Sitting up, the crimson-haired man felt the familiar weight of his wife leaning against him, who had her arms wrapped around him. He smiled for a brief moment before looking out the car window and seeing they parked inside an underground garage, one that most likely belonged to the hotel.

"Sir," the driver said, catching Sirzechs's attention. "We've arrived at the site."

The man let out a yawn before replying, "Thank you, Happy. Just have the others secure the perimeter while I wake Grayfia up."

"Yes, Sirzechs," Happy nodded and got out of the armored SUV. It didn't take long for the man to start giving out orders to the rest of the bodyguards assigned to one of the important individuals on the planet. He knew what was at stake with this meeting as a revolution was on the horizon and he wanted nothing more than to take advantage of this opportunity to rid this world of the shackle known as Gjallarhorn.

For as long as they're in power, the entire solar system won't be able to make progress.

He turned around, only to see the face of his sleeping wife. There were times when he wanted nothing more than to return home to his family and remain with them. As usual, life doesn't work like that, and because of his recent activity when it came to searching for Mobile Suit models and hiring more contractors to protect his family's interest across the world, and, much to his dismay, he's had to move Grayfia and his son; Milicas, on a number of occasions.

Fortunately, he recently made a deal with Togonosuke Makanai, the Prime Minister of Arbrau, to keep his family safe in the Oceanian Federation until his plan comes to fruition. While the man was someone Sirzechs couldn't trust even if his life depended upon it, let alone the lives of his wife and child, he swallowed his pride and managed to make a deal that would benefit the both of them when the time comes.

' _I told my parents I would take care of this situation with Kudelia..._ ' Sirzechs told himself for what seemed like the millionth time in the last few days, ' _...But I have more important things to worry about than my parents' wishes._ '

Deciding those thoughts were for another day, Sirzechs gently nudged Grayfia and whispered in her ear, "Darling, we're here."

It wasn't too long before Grayfia let a groan as she started to wake up.

Sirzechs couldn't help but find it amusing and adorable at the same time, ' _All I ever wanted was to find some time to spend with my family. Is that too much to ask for these days?_ '

After a few moments, Grayfia's silver eyes fluttered open, looking drowsy as one could be when waking up. The silver-haired woman sat up and let out a yawn until she noticed the amused expression on her husband's face, prompting her to look away with a bit of pink on her cheeks until they heard Happy tap on the glass. Sirzechs pressed a button on, causing the bulletproof glass to lower, and allowing him to hear Happy.

"The area is clear," informed Happy, but he looked a bit nervous, making Sirzechs raise an eyebrow. When asking the man what was wrong, Happy gestured to people walking towards them as he opened the car door for the married couple, "Looks like the leader of Grigori couldn't wait to see you."

"Is that so?" Sirzechs asked, getting his answer in the form of Happy moving out of the way and gestured to someone being escorted by a pair of heavily armed guards.

Stepping out of the armored SUV, Sirzechs appeared to stand a few inches taller than his friend/bodyguard Happy. Turning around, the crimson-haired man stretched his arm out and helped his wife out of the car as the two of them looked at the man approaching them.

"Azazel Koyama, leader of the Grigori, or better known as the Watchers, how kind of you to make an appearance," Sirzechs said, already aware of who was standing in front of him.

The man stood around the same height as Sirzechs with short, spiky black hair with his front bangs being gold-like color. His violet eyes gleaming with curiosity and an eagerness that Sirzechs rarely sees in people these days. He was also wearing a black dress shirt and black slacks with a purple tie to tie it all in. However, the final part of his appearance was his black trench coat.

Flanking him were two other men, both of them wearing heavy, black armor with a symbol of black, crow-like wings on their left breast.

In the time since the Calamity War, the solar system had become a very different place ever since the formation of the Grigori. They were originally a faction of Gjallarhorn who broke off due to disagreements in how they were going to operate and leadership. However, it resulted in a conflict between the two sides, ending with an overwhelming victory for Gjallarhorn, who proved their immense military strength could defeat any opponent.

Contrary to popular belief, Gjallarhorn actually allowed for the Grigori to continue existing but became close partners with each other. Resulting in massive funding and new scientific minds to help create new and experimental Mobile Suit designs which Gjallarhorn could choose from when the time came to replace the Graze.

"The famous Sirzechs, it's quite the honor to meet the man whose skills with a Mobile Suit are unmatched and a vicious politician by even Gjallarhorn's own standards," the man known as Azazel stated before looking at Grayfia, who stood next to her husband, and bowing, "And his lovely wife. It's a pleasure to meet the both of you."

Sirzechs walked forward, standing less than a foot away from Azazel, and stretched his arm forward, "No, the pleasure is all mine. I'm grateful you accepted my request to come to Bejing tonight."

The two men shook hands while the bodyguards of both sides watched over in silence.

When he pulled his hand back, Sirzechs saw another familiar face standing behind the leader of Grigori, "Baraqiel, it's been a while since we last saw each other. How have you been, old friend?"

Among all the well-known pilots in the Grigori, Baraqiel Inada was considered to be one of the strongest pilots as he piloted a machine called Blitz. He was also the father to Akeno Himejima as he had the same violet eyes and dark hair like his daughter. Hearing Sirzechs's question, Baraqiel maintained his solemn expression and replied, "I have been doing well, Lord Sirzechs."

"That's good, Baraqiel," the crimson-haired man said to him.

Once they finished exchanging pleasantries, the two groups began heading for the nearby elevator. While walking to it, Azazel was the first to speak up, "Now, I do believe we have a few more guest who is waiting for us to arrive."

"Indeed," replied Sirzechs, agreeing with the leader of the Grigori. "This meeting is quite important to all our futures."

Azazel let out a chuckle, "If any of those reports I've read are true and the ideas you have in mind, then your nickname certainly is befitting of someone of your stature."

"My nickname?" Sirzechs questioned, curious as to what other people knew him by.

Stopping in front of the elevator, the guards stepped in first and followed by Grayfia, Sirzechs, and Azazel. When the door closed and felt the elevator moving, Azazel raised an eyebrow at the crimson-haired man. "Seriously, you're considered one of the strongest Mobile Suit pilots in the entire solar system. While you're known as Sirzechs Gremory on Earth, if you were to travel anywhere else... they know you by another name."

"What would that be?"

Just as the elevator came to a stop and the door opened, revealing a hallway where the entire right wall was made of entirely from glass, allowing for the skyline to be seen for miles. Stepping out of the elevator, Azazel looked at Sirzechs with a serious expression on his face, "The Spawn of Satan."

The man seems to have no reply until Grayfia and Azazel noticed the small grin on his face, "I do have to say..." he said as they stepped out of the elevator, "...Whoever came up with that name, must have certainly seen my work during the Battle of Installation 04. Wasn't exactly the fairest fight in the world for the terrorist group who was occupying the facility."

"Haha!" Azazel didn't hold back his reaction to those words. "When Baraqiel told me about your reputation, I knew you were the kind of man to get this job done."

"Well, considering how your organization has some of the fiercest fighters I've ever seen, I'm quite surprised when Gjallarhorn doesn't ever ask your troops to participate all that often," Sirzechs pointed out as they headed for the conference room down the hall.

Azazel snorted, "If you think Iznario Fareed would let anyone other than Gjallarhorn take the glory, you're sorely mistaken, Sirzechs."

"I fear Iznario wants more than glory for Gjallarhorn," admitted Sirzechs as they approached the door to the conference room. Those words caught the attention of Azazel, making him wonder what Sirzechs knew about the man. Nonetheless, he wanted everyone to hear whatever it was that Sirzechs knew.

Soon a pair of bodyguards rushed forward and opened the pair of metallic doors. At first glance, the conference room was filled with a few other individuals. People who are essential to Sirzech's vision and with the recent news from his younger sister, he already had an idea as to what can be done to resolve that situation.

' _Rias...I hope you stay far away from this ticking time bomb._ '

* * *

 _ **Mobile Suit Gundam: Tekkadan's Iron-Blooded Dragon**_

* * *

 **MARS, CHRYSE SECURITY GUARD (CGS) FACILITY**

 **THE FOLLOWING DAY**

' _Issei, whatever happens...don't move, okay, honey?_ '

' _M-Mom! Wh-What's going o-on?_ '

' _There's not enough time, Issei. Just listen to mommy, okay?_ '

' _Ar-Are you gonna be okay?_ '

' _I promise everything is gonna be fine, swee-_ '

 ** _BANG! BANG!_**

 _'MOM!'_

"This is a pain in the ass," a young man muttered to himself, his bitterness was quite present in his tone. His dark brown eyes were focused on the task above them, which happen to be repairing a damaged Mobile Worker used by Eugene earlier today in training. The young man's appearance was quite ordinary as his short, spiky brown hair and dark brown eyes were the only thing that stands out. Using a creeper, the young man moved around, looking for any more damage to the belly of the machine.

Once he finished inspecting the Mobile Worker, he rolled out from underneath the vehicle and sat up. He then proceeded to grab the collar of the shirt and wipe away the sweat on his face.

"God, Orga is really busting my balls to get this done," the young man groaned, realizing he was far from done today. Taking a look around, the hangar was filled with numerous kids who didn't look any older than thirteen as they worked on the same machines as him. Sounds of power tools and yelling were heard throughout.

"Rough day, Issei?" someone asked the young man who was on the creeper.

Hearing his name, the young man turned his head and rolled his eyes when he saw who it that called out to him, "That's a hell of an understatement, old man."

Stand in front of Issei was a much older man who has much darker skin compared to Issei and light brown eyes. Another thing was that he looked to be in his forties. However, the most noticeable trait was his legs, which appeared to be made from metal. Someone could guess he lost his legs in an accident or was caught in some kind of battle and was wounded. Truthfully, no one knew the story behind the legs.

As for Issei, he was like any child on Mars; desperate to find another meal and a chance to survive till tomorrow. It was quite simple for Issei, deciding to become a child soldier for any hope of a future and ended up working for the Chryse Security Guard since the age of ten years old.

"Must be tough for you," Mr. Yukinojo said as he helped Issei off the ground by grabbing his hand and pulling him up.

Issei let out a yawn as he was helped off the ground, "I know, I've been working since this morning on all the Mobile Workers that needed repairs. Thankfully, Yamagi and Takaki were able to stick around a little longer and help me out."

Mr. Yukinojo saw Issei scowl less than a moment later, who began ranting right afterward, "...Then Mika and the rest of them went out to use the Mobile Workers, forcing the rest of us to stay longer and fix any of the damage on them. Fuck, I know you guys are the top dogs when it comes to using a Mobile Worker, but could they make life a bit easier for the rest of us."

"Oh, Issei, I know you've wanted to get in one for so long..." Mr. Yukinojo said as the two of them watched the other children work, "...You'll get your shot, I promise."

The young man raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "What makes you think I want to pilot one?"

"Well, I see you wander into the hangar at night," the older man smirked when he saw Issei's eyes widen for a brief moment, "Did you really think I wouldn't notice you using the simulator on them. I actually checked your progress from time to time. Your original scores were pretty bad, weren't they?"

Issei walked over to the nearby table and put the wrench down on it. Leaning against it, Issei faced the only adult who respected Third Corp, "If we're being honest, I was utter garbage at it. You have no idea how many times I was killed, blown up, and disabled while using the simulator. But I couldn't give up..."

"...Which led to months of practice until you managed to get the second highest score, only trailing Mika by a few points..." Mr. Yukinojo paused as he was smoking a cigarette. "...Gotta say, it's pretty damn impressive how far you've come since the first time you started working here," the older man praised.

Looking at the many faces throughout the underground hangar, Issei smiled sadly before speaking up, "Life has a funny way of bringing the best of us."

"It certainly does."

Time flew for Issei as he tried comparing today and the first time he started working at the CGS. He hardly knew anybody and had a tough time adjusting to this new life, especially after the death of his mother. It wasn't an easy thing to watch the only family he had left in the world, being shot as if she was nothing more than a sack of flesh and blood. Though, he's glad to have met the guys in Third Corp and, in all honesty, wouldn't trade them in for anything else.

Unfortunately, he and the others who worked with Mr. Yukinojo were being told by Orga and some of the others that they need to hurry up with the repairs and maintenance checks. Considering how Issei was one of the oldest members who helped maintained their Mobile Workers.

This meant he was always needing to be in the underground hangar for just about anything, from teaching the younger kids about how to repair certain parts or help them with tasks that proved to be too difficult for them.

"Orga seriously needs to calm down," Issei grumbled, taking a clean towel and wiping the oil, grime, and dirt off his hands and arms.

Suddenly, a new voice could be heard throughout the hangar, "Issei! Where are you?"

Hearing the familiar voice of his best friend, Issei waved his hand as there was no chance for him to hear his words from across the room. Out of the corner of his eye, Issei started shaking his head at the sight of his friend, Kiba Yuuto, since they were little kids.

When Kiba reached them, he greeted the older man, "Hey, Mr. Yukinojo."

"Kiba, it's nice to see you again," the older man nodded before speaking to Issei. "Anyway, I'll take over for you. I think you're needed elsewhere," he said before walking away from the two young men. Wondering what the old man meant by that, Issei looked at his best friend.

Issei rolled his eyes with a smirk on his face, "Geez, Kiba, leave me to do all the work while you go off and play, pretty boy."

Kiba Yuuto. Or, better known as pretty boy to Issei and a few others like Mika and Eugene.

Someone Issei has known since he was just a little kid, and who was his best friend since after joining the Chryse Security Guard all those years ago. His best friend looked like the complete opposite of him as Kiba had short, well-maintained blonde hair and a pair of light blue eyes. Like everyone else in Third Corp, he was also wearing a basic get-up of a shirt, pants, and a green jacket with the company logo on the back.

"Come on," Kiba said, shaking his head when he heard his nickname. "You know, Orga called for me. What was I supposed to do?"

Issei rolled his eyes, "I'm just screwing with you, man. No need to get your panties in a twist."

"You're so mean, Issei," Kiba replied, acting as if he was upset.

"Whatever, you damn pretty boy."

Once the little banter between the two friends concluded, Kiba watched as Issei threw the towel back on the table and organized some of the tools lying around. The young man with brown hair finished within a few minutes and then walked around the metal table and grabbed his green jacket hanging on the edge of it.

As he was putting it on, Issei looked at his friend, "So, what brings you down here?" he asked, curious as to why Kiba came down into the underground hangars.

"Long story short, Orga sent me to find you. We're supposed to meet the new clients today," revealed Kiba, making Issei stare at him like he grew a second head. Seeing the strange expression on his best friend's face, Kiba asked, "What? Did I say something funny?"

Shaking his head, "This is the first time I've heard about a new job for us," the young man said, curious as to when Third Corp got a new assignment from Maruba.

Hearing that information made Kiba stop walking and looked at his friend like he was insane, "What do you mean by that? Didn't Mika tell you about the job to escort a girl named Kudelia Aina Bernstein to Earth?"

"Kiba."

"Y-Yeah, what's wrong?" Kiba wondered.

Issei rubbed his eyes before letting out a sigh, "Look, we've all known each other for years, Kiba. Mika is like that one uncle who always seems to forget everyone's names or get them mixed up somehow. You guys trusted Mika, of all people, to come down here and tell me about this job."

"When you put it like that...it does sound a little dumb," the young man with blonde hair conceded, realizing the error on their part.

Seeing as how Kiba is most likely beating himself up mentally, Issei walked over to him and threw his arm around Kiba's shoulder, "Though, I'm more concerned with how she stacks up to my standards. Really hoping she's cute cause this job isn't gonna be fun till I find a girl with a nice, big rack," he said with a grin on his face.

Kiba sighed in exasperation, "Why are you so obsessed with boobs?"

"Because they are the only good thing in this entire shitty solar system," answered Issei with a crude response, wanting to teach his friend the joys and wonders of large breast. Until he shrugged afterward, "Although, we'll probably get killed long before that happens for any of us."

"You sure know how to make a guy feel better, Issei."

Issei couldn't help but chuckle at those words, "What can I say, Kiba? I'm one of a kind."

"You're one of a kind alright," muttered Kiba, but was heard by his best friend.

"Oh, fuck you too, man," the young man replied in a half-joking, half-serious manner.

 **X-X-X**

 **A FEW MINUTES LATER**

Realizing he couldn't wear a shirt covered in oil, dirt, and grime to the meeting, Issei made the decision to run back to the barracks and grab the only other clean shirt he owns. After putting on the new shirt, Issei made sure to make himself look presentable as these were clients who requested for Third Corp to escort them to Earth.

It was Third Corp's first real job in months as they've been kept on base with little freedom and were relegated to training with Mobile Workers every once in a while. Outside of those things, Third Corp didn't have anything going for them as the Chryse Region seems to be suffering from the series of riots and strikes happening. Though Issei hardly cared about the politics of the solar system, he was a simple man who left people like Orga and Biscuit to deal with matters as complicated as these.

He began jogging through the hallways, trying his hardest to meet up with the others.

' _Shit! I knew I took too long!_ ' Issei scolded himself as he saw Kiba talking with a few other guys their age. Issei noticed the annoyed expression on the tallest one's face. His name was Orga Itsuka, the leader of Third Corp and someone who Issei respected since meeting the guy. As for the others, there was a teen who looked to be on the heavier side with short, brown hair hidden underneath his hat and trying to keep his nerves together.

The last one was a young who looked shorter than the others by a decent margin. He had short, spiky black hair as his bored, blue eyes seemed to be observing everyone else. On the other hand, he was simply eating what appeared to be Martian plums, a fruit that was grown on Mars all-year round. While he may seem harmless, Issei and everyone knew how dangerous Mikazuki was in combat.

Even the adults in First Corp were spooked by Mika, making him the reason why they didn't tend to treat them too badly most days.

"I'm here guys!" Issei said, catching the attention of everyone. "Sorry about taking so long."

Orga frowned while shaking his head, "Issei, try not taking so long next time."

Without saying another word, Issei merely nodded and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Once Orga saw that everyone was accounted for the meeting, he took a deep breath before knocking on the door and announcing their presence to those in the room.

"Come in!"

After hearing the name of their boss, Maruba Arkay, Orga reached for the console on the wall and tapped in a few numbers. It didn't take long for the door to slide open, revealing the neatly kept office as well as the people currently talking in the room. When they entered, it remained quiet as the five of them entered the office.

Being the last one to enter the room, Issei looked around and saw the people who requested for them. He honestly didn't expect a group of women to be asking for Third Corp, however, his eyes found themselves attracted to one of them in the room. His mind suddenly remembered a day from years ago from when he rescued a girl with crimson hair.

' _S-She's here..._ '

The same could be said for Rias as she looked at the soldiers entering the room with curiosity until her eyes saw the last one entering the room. It had been years since she last saw him, but for her to see him in a place where child soldiers were being used.

' _Issei w-works at the CGS?_ '

Fate can be a funny thing; something Rias and Issei would quickly learn as this day would forever change their lives and the lives of those around them. However, none of them could ever imagine how much things would change from this day onward...

* * *

 _ **Mobile Suit Gundam: Tekkadan's Iron-Blooded Dragon**_

* * *

 **OUTER SPHERE**

 **THAT SAME DAY**

"But Mars, huh."

Traveling through the vast emptiness of space was a starship belonging to Gjallarhorn and a ship which specifically is under the command of those from the Seven Stars. These were the seven most powerful families in the solar system as they were the ones who ruled the organization. On this particular warship, a Biscoe-Class cruiser, there were two young men from the highly respected Fareed and Bauduin families.

Unfortunately, said member of the Bauduin family wasn't exactly happy to be going to Mars.

"As a colony, it's a planet whose resources are all used up. Must a Gjallarhorn inspector be needed for such an assignment?"

Inside the bridge were two young men, one of them was currently leaning against the commander chair. Galieo Bauduin was the only son of the Bauduin family, he was a young man in his mid-twenties with neatly kept hair and a pair of violet eyes. He was also wearing an intricately designed uniform with his family insignia on his left breast. Besides being a member of such a prestigious family, he was also well-known for his strong views as well as a laid-back manner.

"Major, the transmission from the Ariadne."

"I've confirmed it," said the commander sitting in the chair, the same on Galieo was leaning on with a bored expression present on his face. McGillis Fareed was also a young man around the same age as Galieo. Though he had short, well-maintained, blonde hair with a pair of dark blue eyes. Just like his friend, he was also wearing a uniform of similar design, but with the Fareed family insignia on his left breast as well. However, he was known for being a man with charisma and talent, even for someone who was an illegitimate child.

McGillis looked at his friend with a smirk on his face, "Galieo, are frontier operations boring you now?"

Hearing his question, Galieo looked at his friend with a small smile, "As if. I will work hard as an officer of the inspection division, Specialist Major McGillis."

Standing up from the chair, McGillis wanted to remind the crew aboard the ship about the purpose of this mission. "The current economy of the Earth Sphere depends upon that used up colony. For them to continue contributing to the Earth Sphere as they are now, the Mars branch must straighten themselves out to be a part of Gjallarhorn, keepers of world order."

Even after hearing all that, Galieo reminded his friend about the on-going issue as the people of Mars are beginning to demand independence from those of Earth and Gjallarhorn too. It has become quite the topic of debate for many of the economic blocks on Earth. Some have argued that maintaining such control over their holdings on another world like Mars has become too difficult in recent years. Saying it could be beneficial to create more space stations like Dort and transfer them to those facilities.

On the other hand, some argued doing such a thing wasn't possible as they couldn't have access to the rather large supply of half-metal buried deep under the Martian ground. Even proposing the idea of asking Gjallarhorn to send more units to Mars and help put down the rebellion should it happen in the near future.

However, one thing still remains very clear to either side of this argument; change was bound to happen. The question remains is if the people of Earth are willing to accept the outcome. That, from the view of many such as McGillis and Galieo, has yet to be seen. However, both of them have been noticing movement from others like the Gremory and Phenex family, who seem to be preparing themselves for what could happen.

Even an organization like Grigori seem to be stretching their wings out and preparing themselves for something big. McGillis couldn't help but smirk at the prospect of these various groups, wondering what they could accomplish in the future.

On the other hand, Galieo rubbed the back of his neck, "I do sympathize with those at the Mars branch."

"Yes, the push for Mars's independence has been steadily increasing in the past few years, especially these last few months," replied McGillis, who was performing his usual habit of twisting a strand of his blonde hair. Galieo always suspected that his friend did this whenever he was thinking about something. "Perhaps... we don't have the time to worry about others," he said as the ship continued traveling through space.

While Galieo would carry out his duty for Gjallarhorn with no issues, there was still something he absolutely hated about long-distance operations like this one. It happened to be the need to remain close to one of the thousands of transponder in an orbit around Earth or Mars if they wanted to communicate with headquarters back on Earth. It truly made him wonder what the benefits of such a thing.

"I'm aware of all this. But, honestly, it's quite annoying to need the transponder at all," Galieo said to McGillis.

Out in the distance, they could all see an object that appeared to look like a small space station in comparison to their ship. The biggest feature was the glowing sphere in the middle with a ring surrounding it. Along with the red and blue lights, it was quite the interesting design for the equivalent of a communications satellite.

McGillis could see where his friend was coming from on this topic. He looked Galieo, "The Ahab reactor creates energy that not only powers our ships but makes it possible for humans to live in space. The benefits of such technology force us to look past these downsides."

The heir to the Bauduin family sighed, "But that's why* Earth has trouble seeing this far out and makes more work for us inspectors. If I remember correctly this was the reason behind the war from over three hundred years ago, right?"

"It's difficult for humans to let go of such power, Galieo... even if that power has a chance to destroy us."

Both members of the Seven Stars understood how much trouble technology like the Ahab reactor has brought humanity, however, they couldn't deny the benefits of being able to travel through space. The idea of being able to reach new worlds and give humanity room to spread and grow was more than enough to outweigh the potential problems it could bring down the road. And as they made their way to Mars, the two men had more than enough to think about before they needed to perform their job.

' _Colonel Coral..._ ' McGillis remembered the name of the commander of all Gjallarhorn forces on Mars.

After reading the reports, it said the man was a valiant member of the organization and performed his job with honor. It was more than enough to make McGillis suspect the colonel and caused him to dig deeper into the man's past. From what he could gather about the man, Coral most likely lied, bribed, and blackmailed his way to his current position. Honestly, it impressed the young man by how far Coral was willing to do whatever was needed.

In a sick and twisted manner, such a thing could be seen as an inspiration for someone like McGillis, who wasn't too happy with the status of Gjallarhorn.

' _Let's hope the colonel can put on a good show for us._ '

* * *

 **Remember how I said there was an idea I had for another story, which involved crossing over with Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans?**

 **Yeah, this is the story I was talking about at the time. It's certainly an interesting mixture of ideas and elements, especially since no one has ever made a Highschool DxD/MSG: Iron-Blooded crossover before...until this day. Before this story can move forward, I need you guys to understand something here.**

 **I already have the characters and storylines planned out for the equivalent of the first season of the show. When it comes to season 2, I have a few ideas, but nothing concrete. Outside of that, you guys could throw in your own ideas and hope they interest me enough to use them.**

 **Other than that, I've said all I needed to.**

 **See ya next time guys!**


	2. Eye of the Storm

_**THIS IS A WARNING:**_ **I don't own a single damn thing being used in this story. Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans and Highschool DxD belong to their owners/creators!**

* * *

 _ **EPISODE TWO: EYE OF THE STORM**_

* * *

 **CHRYSE SECURITY GUARD (CGS) FACILITY**

 **LATER THAT NIGHT**

 **' _...But that means we're not on equal terms, right?_ '**

Kudelia felt as if someone punched her in the stomach, forcing all the air out of her body. The words of Mikazuki Augus remained lodged in her mind from when he was showing her around the facility. She tried to understand the words he told her and was now thinking back on them, trying to find the connection between her and the rest of Third Corp. Sure, some of them didn't look any older than her, but they experienced things no one their age should ever have to go through.

' _I only want to help them,_ ' Kudelia thought, frustration getting to her as the entire conversation with Rias and Akeno coming back to her. Did they have a point? Was her entire dream just that? A dream?

Her eyes looked towards the night sky, watching the millions of stars high above Mars. Deciding to think about something else, Kudelia did remember how strange Rias was acting when they met the older members of Third Corp. Once the meeting was over, Kudelia, Akeno, and Fumitan were to be escorted by a young man named Biscuit to their temporary room until the day of the trip to Earth.

Meanwhile, Rias had told them she needed to speak with someone right after the meeting with the leader of First Corp and the CGS president; Maruba Arkay came to an end.

For a moment, Kudelia was confused prior to Akeno informing her about Rias's strange behavior when one of the members of Third Corp came into the room. Much like the rest of them, he looked to be about average height with spiky, brown hair and dark brown eyes. The only difference was his tanned skin being a bit darker than some of the others, except for their leader Orga Itsuka. Although, Akeno told her that Rias must have known him from somewhere, considering how Rias has a habit of giving most men little to no attention.

' _For as long as I've known Rias..._ ' Kudelia remembered the various scenes of the redhead rejecting men left and right, ' _...Men mean very little to her. I guess we know the reason why now._ '

As she felt the cold breeze hit her, the young woman wrapped her arms around herself, doing her best to remain warm. With all these thoughts in mind, Kudelia thought it was best to go outside and hope it would help ease her mind as it's always helped her in the past.

"Cold, isn't it?"

When she heard the voice, Kudelia turned towards the person who asked her. It was a young man with short blonde hair and a pair of blue eyes, she remembered he was one of the members of Third Corp who was there during the meeting. If she recalled, the young man's name is Kiba Yuuto.

Realizing she hadn't responded, the young woman nodded, "Y-Yes, it is."

"You'll get used it," Kiba said as he walked towards the blonde. "Though I have a feeling you're out here for a different reason other than to look at the night sky."

Taking a second to look over the young man's appearance, she didn't notice any real differences between those in Third Corp except for the different colored shirts or little accessories like Biscuit's hat. Out of the corner of her eye, Kudelia saw something shining on his chest. It made the blonde woman quite curious as to what it was until realizing how much she was staring at him.

Kudelia looked up and saw Kiba with an amused expression on his face, "See something you like, Ms. Bernstein."

Immediately, her face became flush with embarrassment as her cheeks became dark red. The girl tried to speak up and clarify what she was doing, "N-No! I, uh, was o-only curious as to..." she pointed at the item on his chest, "...W-What's hanging from yo-your chest."

"Oh, you noticed my cross," the young man said as if the last minute never happened. He reached down and held it up for the girl to see.

When the blush finally receded, Kudelia was hesitant to get closer to him. However, curiosity got the better of her and when she got close enough, Kudelia saw the item was a gold, necklace with a small object hanging off the end of it. From what she could tell, it looked like a man who appeared to be laying against a cross while his arms and legs were nailed down.

Looking up, Kudelia asked him what was on her mind, "A cross, but it's unlike anything I've ever seen before. What is it?"

Picking the cross up, Kiba held it up for her to see, "Actually, you should be asking 'who is it?' not 'what is it?'"

"So...who is he?"

"Jesus Christ," Kiba said while looking at the necklace himself. "He's known as the son of God."

During her education, Kudelia could never remember any names like those being mentioned in her time at school. With her attention primarily focused on politics and economics, there were hardly any other classes that mattered to her goals when she went to the college in the Chryse Region. Everything she took had its purpose and was necessary for her to find the solutions needed to help Mars.

So when Kiba mentioned those names, the girl was able to figure that they were associated with a religion of some kind.

In this day and age, religion was a forgotten idea as many people started giving up on someone looking over them, especially the people who lived on a world like Mars. Soon, hope was abandoned by the vast majority of the planet until Kudelia made her speech at the Nachois July Assembly as well as making her pledge to help turn around the fortune of this planet.

Without even realizing it, Kudelia remained silent for about a few minutes, causing Kiba to raise an eyebrow and wave a hand in front of her face.

"Uh, Ms. Bernstein? Are you okay?" he asked, wondering if something was wrong with her.

"W-What?"

Kiba chuckled, seeing her confused expression, "I was asking if you were alright, miss."

"Y-Yes, I'm alright," she replied, feeling the heat rising to her cheeks again. "It's just that I, uh, never heard about any of this."

"Not surprised to hear those words from you," his response caught Kudelia off-guard as she didn't expect it. "Apparently being a Christian is a rare thing on this planet. As far as I know, I'm the only member of Third Corp who still believes in it. Though I know Issei and a few other friends of mine are aware of it but don't care enough to believe in it."

Kudelia was curious as to what he meant by that, "So, why do you believe in it?" she inquired, genuinely wanting to know his response.

"Sometimes I like to believe we're put in this universe for a reason..." he looked up at the starts while he started explaining his reasoning to Kudelia, hoping it would be enough for her to understand him, "...That all the good and bad things in life shape us into who we're supposed to be in the end. I certainly believe its the reason why I managed to meet Issei, who's been the closest thing to a brother I've ever had in my life. Even working at the CGS might lead to something better down the road, but who knows?"

The young man turned and looked at the daughter of Bernstein family with a smile on his face, "Or, that's what I think anyway."

If she was being completely honest, Kudelia was inspired by his words about looking at everything as if its part of life. When applying such a way of thinking to her own life, it certainly made things much easier to think about now. Instead of trying to find rationalize everything from the words of Mikazuki to the events unfolding in the solar system, Kudelia knew she could accomplish her goals.

Deciding to give her thanks, the young woman faced Kiba and smiled at him, "Thank you, you have no idea how much I needed to hear something like that."

"Why? What Mika say to you?" Kiba asked, realizing the source of the girl's melancholy state.

His question made her smile turn into a frown, "U-Uh? H-How did yo-you know it was Mikazuki?"

"Well..." Kiba rubbed the back of his head, "...It's not hard to figure that he must have said something to you, especially since the last person from our side to talk you, was him. And look, Mika has never been one to mince his words. He wasn't trying to upset you or anything by his words. However, I will apologize on his behalf since he's not the most...understanding person in the world."

Kudelia shook her head, "No, it's alright. Those words certainly did make me wonder if I could ever make the people of Mars happy."

"Now that you mention it, I do remember hearing about some speech you made a few months ago," he said, remembering how Maruba and some of First Corp were discussing it in his office. "When it comes to us, we all want a better life. If you think being used as meatshields and replaceable inventory is fun? It's not I can tell you that much, Ms. Bernstein."

Noticing how late it was getting, Kiba spoke up, catching the attention of Kudelia, "Ms. Bernstein, if it's not too much trouble I believe I will turn in for the night. I'm gonna have to help out Issei in the hangar early in the morning."

"It's fine," the blonde woman actually felt bad for taking so much of his time. "I should be the one apologizing to you. And... please call me Kudelia."

Kiba smiled at the young woman before walking away, "Alright, Kudelia, have a good night."

As Kiba walked away, the blonde actually felt something in her chest when Kiba smiled at her in that manner. She never felt anything like this before, but she certainly enjoyed the conversation with the young man known as Kiba Yuuto.

' _I-I guess, Third Corp has some interesting people..._ '

 **X-X-X**

 **AROUND THE SAME TIME**

' _Has it really been that long since then?_ '

Rias found herself walking the hallways of the CGS facility as she looked back on everything that has happened today. First, she received the message from her older brother; Sirzechs, who asked her and Akeno to accompany Kudelia on her journey to Earth. From how her brother sounded on the message, he seemed certain _something_ was about to happen and it seemingly involved her childhood friend.

On the other hand, the beautiful redhead hardly expected to see the young man known as Issei Hyoudou again. It had been over five years since the last time Rias saw him and had found it difficult to concentrate on the meeting as she constantly glanced over at Issei, who seemed to be in a similar state as her.

If she was being honest here, Rias wanted nothing more than to walk over to Issei during the middle of the meeting and drag him to a place where they could speak in private. Though, it does beg the question; how does a young lady like Rias Gremory, the only daughter of the famous Gremory family, meet a young orphan like Issei Hyoudou?

A lovely smile appeared on her face when remembering her meeting with Issei Hyoudou, an event she'd never forget for as long as she lives.

' _ **You idiot! Why did you protect me?!**_ '

' _ **I couldn't let some guy attack an innocent girl.**_ '

' _ **B-But, you got hurt because of me now!**_ '

' _ **This? It's nothing compared to what would have happened to you...and**_ **that** _ **I couldn't let happen.**_ '

Before she had a chance to reminiscence about the past, Rias bumped into someone by mistake. Seeing as how she was at fault, Rias quickly apologized to the person, "I'm terribly sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

When she looked at the person in front of her, Rias saw it was another member of Third Corp and, if she remembered correctly, his name was Eugene. He appeared to be around her age and height with short blonde hair and with a pair of dark green eyes looking at her in annoyance. There was even a scowl on his face for a split second until the young man realized who was standing in front of him.

"N-No, it's fine," Eugene muttered in an embarrassed tone. "You're, uh, one of the people going to Earth, right?"

"Yes, I am," she nodded, answering his question. Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in her head, "By the way, I was wondering if you could help me with something?"

Eugene's eyes widened before he managed calmed down, trying to act as confident as possible, "Definitely, what is it you need, miss?"

"Do you happen to know where Issei is right now?"

In a flash, Eugene's cocky look faded into disappointment as his shoulders sagged and a frown appeared on his face. The one time he manages to meet a girl around his age, it looked like she was already taken by Issei by the look of things. Did beg the question as to why does Issei knew someone like Rias Gremory? Although, if the young man did remember correctly, there was a time when Issei used to sneak off the base at night to see some girl...

' _W-Wait a second!_ ' his eyes widened as the realization smacked in the face, ' _...He was sneaking out to see this girl?!_ '

All Eugene could think about was how lucky Issei was to have a girl like Rias Gremory looking for him. Not only was she a beautiful redhead who more than likely put any other woman to shame, but the girl appeared to be kind and caring if her tone was anything to go by. Add in the famous family to her background, this girl was literally as close as someone could get to being perfect.

Once coming to terms with his rather shitty luck, Eugene sighed and pointed to the hallway behind him, "Just keep walking down this hallway and then make a left. Keep going all the way down till you see the last door on your right. He's probably sleeping or something. The guy's been up since around four in the morning since he's in charge of Mobile Worker repair and maintenance for us."

Hearing that last bit of news made Rias furrow her eyebrows, "But, it's nearly nine though? And the meeting was less than an hour ago? You're telling me's been working for over twelve hours today?"

"It's pretty normal for Issei, but he does have to manage the younger kids who work in the underground hangars with him," Eugene added, causing Rias to become even more concerned about Issei.

She knew children were taken advantage of by their employers, but to make someone work over twelve hours on a consistent basis, can't be healthy in the slightest bit. Now, she was more determined than ever to speak with the young man who's been on her mind in the last hour. On that note, Rias thanked Eugene for the directions and allowed him to continue on with his day. As for her, Rias followed his directions and soon found herself standing in front of a closed door.

This was going to be her first conversation with Issei in over five years. Honestly, Rias was feeling a little nervous at the prospect of speaking with him.

Mustering all the courage she could, Rias hand went up to the door and, as softly as possible, knocked on the door. At first, nothing seems to happen until she heard the sounds of someone walking towards the door. Stepping back from the door, Rias quickly tried to figure out what she was gonna say to Issei.

As the door slid open, revealing Issei who looked as if he was just sleeping. Rias was about to speak up until her voice died in her throat. Her eyes found themselves looking at Issei, who was only wearing a white tank top, which allowed her to take notice of his rather muscular physique. When realizing she was basically staring at him, her face appeared to be the same color as her hair. Looking away from him, Rias tried to get the image out of her head until she heard him call out to her.

"Rias..." when she heard him say her name, the redhead looked back at Issei, who looked beyond happy at seeing her.

Without another word being said, Issei stepped towards her and wrapped his arms around the girl. His arms were firmly wrapped around her waist as he laid his head on her shoulder, holding onto to her as if she might disappear if he doesn't hold on, "...God, it's been so long," he muttered loud enough for her to hear.

Getting over the initial shock, Rias melted into the hug and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Yes," she replied, catching Issei's attention. "It has been a long time since we last saw each other."

Issei lifted his head off her shoulder and, unexpectedly, kissed the redhead gently on the cheek. His action made Rias look at him with wide eyes and appeared to be blushing even harder than when staring at him earlier. The girl didn't know how to respond until Issei, who appeared to look just as flustered from his action, voiced his thoughts, "I was pretty surprised to see you at the meeting with Kudelia Aina Bernstein. What was that all about?"

"Do you know a place where we can talk?" she asked, who wanted nothing more than to talk with Issei again.

For a moment, the young rubbed the back of his head before remembering a place that was pretty much empty at this time of night. He nodded, "Yeah, no one ever stays up in the tower at night. We can head there and talk. Is that okay with you?"

"Of course," Rias beamed a beautiful smile, "As long as you're with me, it doesn't really matter."

He still couldn't believe how her smile was more than enough to make him forget about his shitty life in favor of paying attention to the beautiful redhead standing in front of him. Some might say he was lucky to have anyone, let alone Rias of all people, to care about them. Telling her to give him a second, Issei went back inside the barracks and grabbed his green jacket hanging off the side of his sleeping rack.

When Issei returned to Rias, the young man didn't hesitate to grab her hand and drag her along. "Come on," he said to the redhead, "I know the best way to the tower."

Putting her faith in Issei, she watched as he was able to navigate the hallways with absolute ease, and they eventually found themselves standing outside one of the few exits to the outside. Gently opening the door, he checked to see if there were any guards from First Corp around. Once he saw the coast was clear, Issei opened the door a bit more and allowed for Rias to get out. Just as they stepped outside, Rias could see the tower he was talking about earlier.

If she had to guess, it was roughly a dozen or so meters away from them.

She felt Issei pull her along, causing the redhead to keep up as they used the Mobile Workers to prevent anyone from seeing them. Continuing to use them as cover, the two of them reached the tower without being spotted. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Issei pull something out of his pocket.

"A lockpick?" questioned Rias.

"Oh, this?" Issei said while holding it up for her to see. "It's something I use whenever I want to come up here. Being up there helps me clear my mind of trouble."

As he began fiddling with the lock, Rias could see some of the Mobile Workers were covered in green paint from where she was standing. It looks like they were training recently, given how a good majority of them were lined up in a neat row, most likely to be cleaned later on. Although, Rias remembered what Eugene told her about Issei being the member of Third Corp who is in charge of maintenance and repairs.

"Issei, could I ask you something?"

"Sure," Issei replied, curious as to what she wanted to know.

Rias bit her lower lip, "How did you end up here?"

 _ **CLACK!**_

When he managed to pick the lock, Issei didn't respond to her question. Back when they first met as kids, Issei remembered her asking this same question...

' _ **The CGS? What's that?**_ '

' _ **Well, they hire kids like me to be soldiers, more or less.**_ '

' _ **Huh?! They make you guys fight?**_ '

' _ **Pretty much, but its better than dying on the streets.**_ '

' _ **B-But...why go work at a place like that?**_ '

Ever since that day, Issei has questioned why did he work for the Chryse Security Guard, a paramilitary group who treated him and the rest of Third Corp like utter garbage. Though, if he dug deep enough, he would find his answer in the form of trying to find a place he could call home. Something he hasn't had in the ten years since coming here. Other than that, what other purpose was there in life?

He became an orphan at the age of eight years old, a common sight for the world of Mars. As the years went by, Issei met various people, including his best friend Kiba and Asia Argento, one of his closest friends ever since he met the sweet girl a few years ago. For Issei, Kiba was the closest thing to a brother, and the young man was beyond grateful to have someone like Kiba with him.

Most of all, he met Rias Gremory during his younger years.

Without saying another word, Issei gently grabbed her hand and gestured for her to follow him. As the two of them began making the ascent towards the top of the tower, they settled for silence as Rias thought she must have upset him somehow. Meanwhile, Issei was trying his hardest to figure out how to answer her question. The more he thought it over, the more he realized there was only one thing for him to do.

' _Guess it's no use,_ ' he thought in frustration, ' _I can't ever escape my past, can I?_ '

* * *

 _ **Mobile Suit Gundam: Tekkadan's Iron-Blooded Dragon**_

* * *

 **A FEW MINUTES LATER**

Out in the distance, there was a pair of guards from Third Corp who was in the middle of patrolling the area around the facility. Their mission was quite simple; prevent anyone from getting onto the base and warn the others should an attack be aimed the CGS facility. It was a simple task, right? Actually, these two young soldiers had other things in mind as they were walking around in the middle of the night.

"Dude, you have no idea how badly I wanna grope the tits on those girls we saw today," one of them said, expressing his frustration over the lack of opportunity to get some action. This young man's name is Motohama, mostly known for his glasses which can supposedly measure the three measurements of a girl. Something almost no one in Third Corp believed.

The only other person who believed his outrageous claims was another young man by the name of Matsuda, who shared his friend's sentiments regarding his statement. The two were known as Third Corp's resident perverts.

Both of them were hot-blooded males who just wanted to create their own respective harems. It was their lifelong dream ever since learning such wonders from some man they met when they were kids, even if they understood their pretty crappy reality. Unfortunately, no one in Third Corp was even remotely interested in the idea as they had bigger concerns over gathering a group of women to hang around them. Survival was the main concern for just about everyone on the base.

Matsuda sighed as they walked past another patrol, "I get it, Motohama. The hotass redhead had a pretty nice rack from where we were standing."

"I was mostly interested in the girl who was walking next to the redhead," Motohama replied, a lecherous grin was seen on his face as he remembered the raven-haired girl. If he was being honest, that girl had an even _bigger_ rack than the redhead, which seemed almost impossible. Though he wasn't complaining one bit about it.

As they continued patrolling the area, neither of them took notice of a pair of bodies lying motionless behind a rock.

The two of them kept walking around for a few minutes until they heard the sound of footsteps behind them. Using their experience, the two of them gripped their assault rifles and quickly turned to see who it was trying to sneak up on them.

For a moment, the two made eye contact before nodding. While they certainly cared about girls more than their own lives, the two of them didn't slack off in training.

However, when they shined their lights on whatever it was behind them, they were surprised to find a small animal which looked like a black cat. Motohama sighed in relief as he wiped some sweat off his eyebrow before walking up to the animal.

Just as he was about to pet it, Motohama was about to tell Matsuda to come over as the animal was harmless. Suddenly, he heard a sharp _crack_ in the distance followed by the sound of something hitting the ground. Hard.

Quickly, Motohama grabbed his rifle and turned around to see what happened. His face went from surprise to utter despair as he saw the body of Matsuda on the ground, who had his brains blown out by a rifle of some kind. Realizing what might be happening, Motohama grabbed his radio and shouted, "We're under attack! Send h-"

The message was cut short when, for a brief moment, he could feel something hit the side of his helmet and penetrate his skull, sending blood and brain matter everywhere.

Lying on a nearby ridge overlooking the facility is a two-man sniper team. These men were dressed in the uniform associated with the militaristic organization known as Gjallarhorn. A group famous for ending a destructive conflict known as the Calamity War over three centuries ago.

Now, they maintain their iron-grip on Mars and keep a close eye on the nations of Earth. Yet like any organization, the further it grows, the higher the chance of corruption to take place.

"Alright, let's move to the next area," the spotter said to his teammate.

Despite killing the guard who looked like he was trying to get a message out, the two-man team saw a white, signal flare being launched into the night sky. Soon, the entire CGS facility was awake as alarms went off and people started running around, either getting defenses prepared or arming themselves with weapons. Either way, the facility was now aware of an attack being made on their position.

As they attempted to organize themselves, no one at the CGS facility was even aware of the enemy right now. Except no one was able to get a glimpse at three terrifying sights in the distance.

Mobile Suits of Gjallarhorn.

In today's era, these massive humanoid weapons were the dominant force on the battlefield, usually working with either other Mobile Suits or Mobile Workers - high-speed, lightly-armored vehicles armed with heavy weapons. Throughout the entire solar system, these two weapons were the primary forces deployed by any faction who could afford such weapons and who needed to have them such as the Chryse Security Guard.

Sitting in the lead unit was the overall commander of the attack on the CGS and standing on both his flanks were the other officers assigned to this attack. The lead unit, being piloted by the commander, scowled at the sight of the flare, "They failed?! Lousy snipers! When we get back to base, I'm going to throw those simpletons into the brig!"

Hearing the anger in the commander's voice, one of the officers spoke up, hoping the man heard him.

"Wait, Orlis! Be calm," one of the others pilots said, trying his best to calm the commander down and prevent him doing anything stupid.

"Alright then, all forces commence attack!"

Once the order was given, the nearby Mobile Workers armed with rocket artillery, began bombarding the nearby facility, wanting to neutralize the facility's defenses. In just moments, the night sky of Mars was lit up with the bright lights of explosions. To a man like Crank, it looked like Hell itself opened up on the CGS facility.

While the Mobile Workers of Gjallarhorn prepared themselves for the attack, the older man frowned at the sight of the facility being attacked.

' _ **Crank, I know what Major Coral has asked of you and the others...but, please make sure my sister and her friend live through this attack.**_ '

The man gripped the controls of his Mobile Suit tighter than before as he remembered the conversation he had while onboard the Gjallarhorn's Martian space station and muttered, "You're asking an awful lot out of me, dear grandson. Putting the lives my granddaughter and her friend in danger like this...

* * *

 _ **Mobile Suit Gundam: Tekkadan's Iron-Blooded Dragon**_

* * *

 **A COUPLE MINUTES PRIOR**

"Issei? Are you alright?" Rias inquired, pulling him by the sleeve of his shirt. As she stood on the same step as him, Rias put her hand on his cheek, a look of worry on her face when seeing Issei's annoyed expression. Although putting her hand on his face was enough to force Issei to look at her.

Realizing what he had just done, Issei apologized, "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you, Rias."

She shook her head, "It's fine..." the redhead rubbed his cheek gently and smiled at him, "...I'm just really worried about you, that's all."

"You don't need to worry about me."

With those final words, Issei grabbed her hand and continued climbing the stairs with her. As they neared the top of the tower, Issei saw the familiar scene of the Martian night sky. Even after working for nearly twelve hours straight, dealing with the younger kids who work in the hangar, and having to interact with members of First Corp, he always managed to find time to come up here. It was only natural for him to find amusement in Rias's reaction to seeing a sight she hadn't seen in over five years.

For Issei, however, it reminded him of the last night he ever saw Rias. A night that forever changed how he lived his life...

' _ **A-Are you ever coming back?**_ '

' _ **I-I don't know, but I do know one thing, Issei.**_ '

' _ **What's that?**_ '

' _ **You're someone very important to me. So...please, wait for me?**_ '

That single line had driven him to be better and gave him more than enough reason to live, especially considering how he lost his own mother at a very young age. Just by miraculously meeting this beautiful redhead, a woman who brought out this pleasant feeling from him. Hell, seeing the woman before him smile was more than enough to put him at ease.

"...I'd wait the rest of my life, if I have to," Issei muttered to himself, remembering their promise.

"Did you say something?"

Hearing her voice, Issei seem to snap out of his thoughts and replied back, "No, I was, uh, just remembering something."

"Oh? What's that?" Rias asked.

Instead of getting a response from him, Rias saw Issei turn away from her in embarrassment as she noticed his cheeks becoming dark red. She became quite curious about what Issei was thinking right now, "What's wrong? What were you thinking?"

His attempt to speak failed as his eyes met the alluring teal eyes of the young woman standing before him. Over fives years have passed, and he couldn't seem to respond to the girl who's kept him going this entire time. As he tried to speak, his words were cut-off by the sudden white, light in the night sky.

While Rias looked quite confused as to what was going on, Issei understood the meaning of that light; it meant an attack was about to happen.

Everything around him seems to slow down as his mind began kicking in, trying to figure out what the hell to do in this situation. The first thing was getting Rias to safety and making sure Kudelia and Akeno were alright as well. Once they're out of danger, he needs to find Orga and the others and figure out what was going on.

Seeing as how those were his best options, Issei grabbed her hand and told her that they needed to get somewhere safe. After quickly making their way down the tower, Issei and Rias stepped outside to see Mobile Workers being scrambled and LCS drones being launched into the air by the younger members who weren't fighting. It looked as if a war was coming to their doorstep.

"Issei!"

Hearing the familiar voice, he turned around and saw Kiba making his way over to him. Wondering what was going on, Issei yelled back, "Kiba! What's going on?"

"We're under attack by someone! Apparently, Orga needs pilots for the Mobile Workers!"

This information caught him by surprise, "W-Wait! Really?!"

"Yeah, now make sure that Ms. Gremory and the others are safe before coming to the underground hangar!"

"Got it!," Issei shouted, feeling a bit excited at the opportunity to prove himself. "I'll make sure she and the others are safe. And Kiba?"

"What is it?"

Issei grinned at his best friend, "Whoever picked a fight with us, they'll regret it!"

As a response, Kiba nodded and headed down to the hangar himself while Issei and Rias went towards the main facility. Just as they got to the door, Rias looked utterly terrified at the prospect of Issei leaving her, "W-Wait, don't tell me you're going out there?"

"Shit," he muttered to himself before sighing, "Yeah, I am."

Rias grabbed him by his coat, "Don't go, Issei."

"I have to, Rias. Third Corp is going out there to fight. All of them are like family to me and I can't just leave them," Issei wanted her to understand that while he was beyond happy to see her, there were others who depended on him.

Once she realized that nothing was going to change his mind, Rias sighed in defeat, "Please..." she begged him, "...don't die out there. Just come back to me, Issei."

' _Ah! Fuck it!_ ' Issei thought before doing something that might backfire on him. He leaned in closer and kissed Rias, catching the redhead off guard. Before she even had a chance to react, he pulled back and had a nervous look on his face, "S-Sorry...I just couldn't find the words. So, I decided using another way to promise you that I'll come back."

He placed both his hands on her cheeks, "And I intend on coming back. Alive. You got that, Rias."

 **X-X-X**

Getting over their initial shock, members of Third Corp began organizing their units and getting into their respective Mobile Workers to hold back the enemy attack.

In one of the underground hangars, the maintenance crews were in an absolute frenzy to repair or rearm any Mobile Workers that were just returning from battle. When Orga entered the hanger, he could smell motor oil, blood, and the stench of sweat, all signs of how stressful this battle was getting for them.

Out of the corner of his eye, Orga saw one of his trusted comrades; a young man with blonde hair named Eugene, who was sitting on top of a Mobile Worker. In his mind, there only words that could be used to describe is over-confident, reliable, and most of all, who has your back. Besides Eugene, Orga saw someone else getting ready for combat.

"Kiba! Where's Issei?!" Orga called out to him, right as he was in the middle of taking off his CGS jacket and tying it around his waist.

He yelled back, "Don't worry, boss! He'll be here!"

Those would be his final words before getting inside the machine and closing the hatch. Just moments later, the familiar sound of the engine turning on was heard. Numerous other Mobile Workers were ready to move out. A scowl appeared on Orga's face as he turned towards Eugene, "What's the situation?!"

Eugene saw Orga approaching him and scoffed, "You're late! Mikazuki and Shino's team have just gone out."

Meanwhile, a teen who looked to be on the heavier side was currently running with a metal tear-shaped object in his hand when he noticed the familiar sight of Issei entering the hangar. He called out to him, "Issei, over here!"

"Biscuit!"

With the sounds of engines, power tools, and all the yelling, it was quite difficult to hear each other. Walking over towards his friend, Issei asked him, "Where the fuck is Orga?!"

"He's talking with Eugene! Just follow me!" Biscuit said, receiving a nod from Issei.

When they caught sight of their leader, the first thing that happened was Biscuit placing the tear-shaped object on Orga's back. Issei approached Orga, he was a bit anxious because of what Kiba told him. And sure, he may have been jumping the gun when he told Kiba about making whoever attacked Third Corp regret it.

Taking a deep breath, he spoke up, "Orga, I heard you needed me."

The leader of Third looked at Issei with a serious expression on his face, "Look, we're running a bit short on pilots. I wasn't planning on asking you to go out there, Issei. Then, Kiba and the old man told me about your little training sessions with the Mobile Workers. So, I'm letting you pilot one, and it's about time to put those two Alaya Vijnana Systems to use."

Issei grimaced, remembering the painful procedure for having organic devices into a person's spinal cord. People needed to get one if they wanted to work for the CGS, however, Issei was given the procedure a second time as a punishment a few years back. Suddenly, his thoughts were broken up when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"Huh?"

Standing behind Issei was Biscuit, who was holding the same tear-shaped object he had placed on Orga. It didn't take a genius for Issei to realize what Biscuit was asking for and nodded, "Yeah, give me a second."

Quickly taking off his tank top and CGS jacket, Issei felt the object connect with the Alaya Vijnana Systems. He gave a quick thumbs up to Biscuit before asking Orga something that's been on his mind, "Hey, uh, boss?"

"What is it?" Orga asked him, surprised to hear the rather quiet tone from Issei.

Issei only wanted to know one thing right now, "D-Do we know who's attacking us?"

Before he could give his comrade an answer, everyone heard the familiar voice of the commander of First Corp, "What are you doing?!"

The older members of Third Corp turned their heads and saw two members of First Corp, approaching them, and even having the audacity of barking out orders to them. "You all have to attack the enemy head-on, Third Corp!"

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Orga glared at the commanding officer, "Do you know who the enemy is?"

He got his answer when the man began sweating bullets, looking quite nervous to say who's attacking them.

"They're..."

 **X-X-X**

Numerous Mobile Workers of the CGS began rolling out into the battlefield, attempting to hold back the enemy force. Most CGS members were using the metal barriers set up as cover against the enemy's overwhelming firepower in the form of rocket artillery and long-range fire.

"Gosh. Are they rich or something? They're firing so much!"

Somewhere on the battlefield, two Mobile Workers stood out beyond the rest. While many of them were yellow-ish color, these two machines were pink and white. The pilot of the pink Mobile Worker was another member of Third Corp, a young man by the name of Shino.

Next to him was Mikazuki's machine. Both were firing at the enemy force in the distance, trying to figure out who was attacking them.

"I don't who they are, but they want us dead, don't they?" Shino asked, letting loose another burst of fire from the twin canons their Mobile Workers were armed with.

"No," replied Mikazuki, noticing movement in front of them. "They're coming."

Rushing past the thick, black smoke were numerous Mobile Workers painted in a dark red color. These ones looked far more advanced than the crude versions that the CGS were currently deploying onto the battlefield. Everything about them screamed the kind of wealth and technology this enemy was using. It was also here that most Third Corps members saw the symbol painted onto the side.

It resembled a lion blowing into a massive horn, which had a flag attached to it. On the flag were seven stars. There was only one organization with that symbol.

Shino couldn't hold back his shock of who they were shooting at.

"No way. Those Mobile Workers are..."

 **X-X-X**

" **Why Gjallarhorn?!** " questioned Eugene and Issei at the same time, the former not bothering to hide his fear of the situation they were facing. On the other hand, Issei actually felt something akin to surprise and joy mixed together. Though he was more concerned with getting out into the battlefield and helping out the others.

It was one thing to face another security company who were tired of the CGS, but facing the dominant military power that ruled the space between Jupiter and Earth with an iron fist? That was another thing entirely. So Eugene's response wasn't entirely unwarranted.

The commander of First Corp didn't hold back his own frustrations, "How would I know?!"

"Never mind that! Just deploy," a man by the name of Todo exclaimed, another member of First Corps.

Everyone knew the situation was deteriorating fast, however, Orga wanted to make sure of something. The young leader of Third Corps looked at the commander, "What will First Corps, our main forces be doing in this attack? How do we coordinate?"

By just their reaction alone, Orga had a feeling of what was about to happen. He saw how quickly the two men became surprised by the question, and came up with a response that angered Orga, "We will attack from their rear. A pincer attack. So until then, you hold off the enemy."

"You got that!" added Todo. Both members of First Corps started walking out of the hanger,

Orga glared at the commander but didn't say anything. Now wasn't the time to rip the man for his incompetence at a time like this. Orga knew his comrades needed him right now, and fighting idiots wasn't something he should be doing.

Eugene shook his head, "Darn. I guess we have to go," he said, getting into the cockpit of the machine and pulled down the hatchet. As the hangar roared back to life with noise, Biscuit adjusted his hat as he mentioned a bit of news that made Issei and Orga a bit nervous, "I'm detecting an Ahab Wave besides our own reactor."

This caught Orga's attention.

"What?"

"If the enemy is Gjallarhorn, then there's a chance for that to be here..."

With this information, Orga knew he needed something to change the game. If there's a chance for Mobile Suits to enter the fight, there's was no way for them to beat back such machines. Then an idea came to Orga, he remembered about the old Mobile Suit unit in the engine room.

Suddenly, he heard Eugene call out to him, "Orga, hurry up."

Looking at his friend, Orga knew they had one shot at this. "Biscuit, I need to ask you for a favor. And Issei?"

"Y-Yeah, Orga?"

The leader of Third Corp pointed at a nearby Mobile Worker unit, "I suggest you get yourself ready, we don't wanna keep everyone waiting, do we?"

Issei responded immediately, "No, we don't!"

"Then let's go and show Gjallarhorn what happens when they dare attack Third Corp!"

 **X-X-X**

Sounds of the dead and dying filled the radio waves as the fighting grew worse between the two sides. Gjallarhorn was relentless in their assault against them. Wave after wave of Mobile Workers was thrown against the defense of Third Corps. However, the body count for the Third Corps was piling, and they knew that it was only a matter of time before Gjallarhorn could breakthrough and end this battle.

Shino quickly fired off another burst of rounds as he moved his machine further back, wanting to avoid being exposed to enemy fire. He took down another enemy Mobile Worker rushing towards him. Covering both his sides were a pair of Mobile Workers, one of them being white and the other gray.

" _Man, you guys saved our asses back there,_ " Shino thanked over the comms, grateful for the help of Mikazuki and Kiba.

Inside the white Mobile Worker, Mika shook his head, "It's okay. But there are so many..." the young man muttered as he pulled the trigger, unleashing more rounds down range.

On the other side of Shino, the gray machine was being piloted by Kiba, who just took down a pair of Gjallarhorn Mobile Workers.

" _You know, I thought Gjallarhorn wasn't the type to throw away lives,_ " Kiba said over the comms, his eyes showed nothing but contempt for them as he destroyed a third Mobile Worker. When seeing the familiar scene of smoke rising from the wreck, he shrugged his shoulders, " _Oh well, it's their loss._ "

As they heard Shino talking about them being low on ammunition until his voice was cut-off by someone else, but it was one person everyone was grateful to finally hear from ever since this battle started.

" _Shino's team, fall back!_ "

After Issei got prepped and ready, he and Eugene drove their machines out of the underground hangar and onto the surface. Issei was already hearing the constant radio chatter between everyone as they seem to be trying to coordinate some kind of counter-attack but weren't getting very far with the numerical superiority that Gjallarhorn possesses along with better machines.

Besides the sounds of people yelling, talking, and giving out orders, there were also the voices of those who were dying and others who screamed right before their life was extinguished.

He continued to take deep breaths and remind himself of why he's out here.

It's because of Kiba and Mr. Yukinojo's faith in his improvement and determination. However, there was a much simpler reason than ever that one. The image of Rias entered his mind, causing him to tighten his grip on the controls and telling himself what might happen to her, should they fail to hold the enemy back.

Soon, Orga's voice was heard all across the net as he stood on top of Eugene's Mobile Worker and began coordinating their defense, "Dante will relieve you. Go resupply."

" _Orga!_ " shouted Shino over the comms, " _You're late!_ "

The young leader apologized, "Sorry. Mika and Akihiro fall back as well."

Looking over his shoulder to Issei, he called out to one more person, "Kiba, I need you for something."

" _What is it, Orga?_ "

"You ready to show Issei the ropes of combat?" Orga could only smirk when he heard Kiba chuckle at his question. While he didn't always show it, Orga did certainly appreciate what Issei did as he took on the grueling task of not only keeping all their machines at tip-top shape, he also dealt with the younger kids on a daily basis. Beyond that, the leader of Third Corp always wanted to see how capable was Issei in combat.

His gut feeling that was Issei was destined for more than his job in the hangar, and Orga was prepared to bet on his potential in this fight.

" _I'll make sure he keeps up, boss_ ," Kiba replied as he then called out to his best friend, " _Yo, Issei! I sent you the coordinates of my position, follow them and you'll find me._ "

Orga heard Issei respond to Kiba and saw his Mobile Worker drive past them and onto the battlefield. As he began organizing the defense, Orga heard someone on the ground, calling out to him. The young man looked and saw one of the younger members, a kid by the name of Danji, speaking to him, "Orga. If you're shorthanded, put me out there. There's a Mobile Worker that's free."

One of the other kids, one named Takaki, tried to scold him, "Danji, you can't..."

"When Shino's team returns, report to him," Orga said, granting Danji's request. "Don't be reckless."

* * *

 _ **Mobile Suit Gundam: Tekkadan's Iron-Blooded Dragon**_

* * *

It was like Kudelia was living in some kind of twisted nightmare. She was frightened by the sounds of explosions and alarms going off throughout the facility. Originally, she thought it was a supply depot going up in flames or a series of mines accidentally going off. However, those ideas were shattered when one of the young soldiers of Third Corp came to their room and told her and Akeno to change.

As for Fumitan, the young blonde woman recalled her maid saying something about going to see what was going on. Unfortunately, that happened nearly ten minutes ago and neither she or Akeno had seen the dark-haired main. While Kudelia was quite concerned for Fumitan, Akeno wanted nothing more than to search the facility for Rias.

Luckily, as the young man named Biscuit was guiding them to somewhere inside the base, they had come across Rias.

The redhead was relieved to find her friends were fine before asking why they were walking around the facility during an attack. Biscuit interrupted and told her that Orga gave him orders to make sure the clients were safe during the battle between them and the enemy forces.

Continuing to travel the hallways, the three girls heard the sounds of battle from an occasional explosion to the facility itself shaking from time to time. For Kudelia, she despised war and everything it stood for as it caused nothing but misery for everyone else in the solar system.

Though, Rias and Akeno hated it for different reasons. Ever since being groomed by her family to become a part of Gjallarhorn, Rias saw how they used their power and abused it in ways she that horrified her. Her family always prided itself on treating servants and guest as if they're part of the Gremory family.

It was a well-known trait that goes back to her grandfather.

While Rias hated it because organizations like Gjallarhorn went against the very idea her family instilled in their members, Akeno knew her future ended with her becoming a member of the Grigori like her father. She knew the death of her mother was the result of her father being forced to leave...

Not only did war help kill her mother, but her father was another culprit as well.

As all three of them pondered on these thoughts, Biscuit stopped in front of a door and began typing in a code on the keypad.

Kudelia spoke up, "Where are we going?" she asked, still concerned as to where Fumitan had gone off. "She told me to wait in the room fo-"

Biscuit gave the girl a hard look, "If you stay there, then you will die."

His words caused the young woman to freeze. The idea of dying never occurred to Kudelia throughout most of her life, but that was the reality facing her right now. With this battle raging between this security company and whatever mysterious was attacking them. Not only was she in danger, but the lives of Akeno, Rias, and Fumitan as well.

"D-Die?" muttered Kudelia. She gripped her wrist even tighter, "W-We could die..."

These two didn't need to see these horrors. Rias had a family waiting for her on Earth and Akeno had a father who was most likely worried sick about her. Both of them have people who care about them.

Instead, they're with her in the middle of a war zone and the chances of seeing their family again are slim at best.

Biscuit finished entering the code and the door slid open. He looked at Kudelia and reassured her and the others, "I'm working hard right now so that you won't."

When he entered the room, Kudelia hesitated to follow until Rias and Akeno helped their friend.

"It's alright," Rias said to her, "If Biscuit and the others are working hard to keep us safe, then we have to believe in them. They're the only thing that stands between us and getting to Earth, so please put your faith in them, Kudelia."

Akeno smiled as she heard the words spoken from her best friend, "She's right, you know? What's wrong with putting a little faith in them?"

Taking their words into mind, it definitely eased her mind as the subject of dying isn't necessarily one that all people think about until it happens to them. As she regained a bit of confidence, Kudelia appreciated what their words, "Thank you, Rias and Akeno."

Once they made their way to the threshold of the door, none of them were ready to see a sight like this. They saw numerous members of Third Corp working on what appeared to be a Mobile Suit, and a very old one by the look of it.

It towered over everything in the room. The machine was a combination of white, blue, and gold. Most intriguing of all was the golden horns on the top of its head. Kudelia, however, noticed the numerous cables attached it as well as the numerous parts that seemed out of place on the machine. She realized that they were planning on using this weapon in battle.

Another thought entered her mind, Kudelia realized that the enemy attacking them must be powerful if the CGS is forced to use such an old machine.

' _Who could be attacking this facility?_ ' she thought.

 **X-X-X**

Chaos was the only word capable of describing the scene unfolding in front of Orga. He saw numerous Mobile Workers of their own forces being destroyed by Gjallarhorn. Even hearing the cries of terror from the pilots of those machines right before they died.

"Team 3, reinforcements are coming," he said. "Just hold on!"

Looking over to the right flank, he placed a hand on his headset, "Team 5, attack harder, or you'll get it!"

Orga tapped the top of the Mobile Worker, "Eugene, move it!"

Inside the machine, Eugene started moving it forward and firing off a few shots at the Gjallarhorn forces. "I can move, but this is getting worse."

As Third Corps continued to meet the advance of Gjallarhorn, Shino and his team had returned to the battlefield after being resupplied. Shino spoke up over the comms, " _Concentrate fire._ "

Out of the corner of his screen, Shino noticed one of the Mobile Workers break off from his group. He suddenly remembered it to be the machine that Danji was piloting. This made the young man call out to his teammate, " _Hey, what are you doing, Danji?_ "

"Their armor is to thick. I have to close in and be a hero..." replied Danji. The young boy didn't hesitate in battle, even if there was that fear of dying. The canons came alive as they spewed out round after round at the enemy machine approaching the facility. However, along the way, the machine hit an uneven part of the hill and slid forward, causing it to get stuck in the ground.

Danji heard Shino's voice over the comms, " _Move! If you stop, you'll die!_ "

Raising his head, Danji saw a Gjallarhorn Mobile Worker take aim at his machine. Tears formed in his eyes as the thought of death crept into his mind. His thoughts were all over the place, except one stood out beyond the rest; Is this it?

Fortunately, death wouldn't claim him as he saw the machine getting hit by something. The machine slumped forward, letting Danji know that either it was too damaged or the pilot was dead. Instead, he felt joy at who it was that saved him.

" _Sorry to make you wait._ "

It was Mikazuki.

This was when the tide began to change as the young man began engaging the Gjallarhorn forces. Many in Third Corp knew that Mikazuki was their most skilled pilot, and that was on full display as Mikazuki began tearing the enemy Mobile Workers apart. He stayed on the move and unleashed hell on the enemy.

"I won't allow you to hog all the glory!"

Right behind Mikazuki was another of Third Corp's best pilots; Akihiro. He was easily one of the biggest guys in the unit and everyone knew how much he competed with Mikazuki when it came to anything. Nonetheless, when it came to battle, these two are a fearsome duo, unlike anything First Corps could bring to the table. It was certainly an advantage that Orga wanted to press as much as he could against Gjallarhorn's forces.

"Yes, Mika and Akihiro have engaged," Orga said, seeing the impact provided by them. "Not many can beat them in melee. It's time to show the space rats' power."

Seeing the limited breathing room they have, Orga gave out the next set of orders, "We will regroup now. Get the wounded out of here!"

"But this is just buying time. It's still getting worse," pointed out Eugene. "And where are the main forces, First Corps? When are they going to turn up?!" he asked, continuing to fire at the enemy forces.

Then out of nowhere, Biscuit's voice was heard on the comms, " _Orga._ "

"Is that you, Biscuit? How is it?" Orga questioned.

To his misfortune, the answer he got received from Biscuit was the one he expected. " _It's as bad as we thought it was, Orga. First Corps and the president are fleeing the battlefield through the rear._ "

Hearing this new information, Eugene voiced his opinion immediately, "What are we going to do? I don't wanna die in vain here!"

"No, you're wrong..." Orga said, getting a confused response from Eugene. "That doesn't make things right. Does it, Biscuit?"

" _Sure_ ," replied Biscuit. From where he was standing, Biscuit saw the fleeing forces and pressed a detonator of some kind. What came next was a surprise as signal flares were launched into the air.

And what made the confusion even worse was when some of the enemy Mobile Workers headed in the direction of First Corps. Shino's team noticed this, " _Hey! Their units are starting to move away from us!_ "

Orga smirked when heard Shino, "I figured they would."

"What?"

Looking at Eugene, Orga explained it, "If I'm reading the situation correctly, they're not allowing one to escape this place."

Now that First Corps was acting as a decoy for Third Corps, Orga knew they needed to take this opportunity by the throat and use it. With the majority of Gjallarhorn's forces heading off to fight First Corps, this meant that they can possibly breakthrough their lines and try to end this battle.

 _ **BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!**_

Immediately, the ground began to shake as massive explosions kicked up dirt everywhere. Orga and the rest of Third Corps saw this and thought it was artillery, but the young leader of Third Corp knew better.

"This is..." muttered Orga, seeing the one thing that no one wanted to see; Mobile Suits.

Gjallarhorn was well-known for being the only producers of newer Mobile Suits models ever since the end of the Calamity War. This meant that anyone taking them on was at a disadvantage from the very start of a battle. These units were a dark green color with a single golden eye on its head. As the Mobile Suit landed a few hundred meters away from the facility, the pilot of the machine didn't hide bother to hide their displeasure with the battle.

"Why is it taking so long to neutralize such a facility?" the commander demanded. "All Mobile Workers will get a pay cut!"

 **X-X-X**

 **A FEW MOMENTS EARLIER**

Kiba had to admit that Issei certainly did better than he expected as his best friend managed to kill about half a dozen enemy Mobile Workers in the last hour or so. However, he did notice that Issei was breathing a bit heavier than usual and seemed a little slow to respond sometimes. It was strange to Kiba, he knew this wasn't the first time that Issei had killed someone, but this is definitely the first time he's had to kill _this_ many people.

There's a difference between killing someone who was nothing more than a desperate criminal who was looking for some form of sick satisfaction over a person who Issei has never met before and has people who loved them and waiting for their return home. Now, Issei robbed those families of a son, a nephew, a brother, or even a father.

"Issei, you okay?" Kiba was starting to get a bit worried for his friend.

It took him a minute to respond over the comms, " _Yup, I-I'm okay, Kiba. Just a little tired._ "

Hearing his friend's response made Kiba sigh in irritation, "Issei, you're not okay. I've known you long enough to know that you're in bad shape right now. There's nothing wrong with saying you're having a hard time with this. It's okay, we all go through this kind of thing. Look, if you were anything like Mika and able to mow down enemy forces without an issue, then I'd think we have a problem."

Inside his Mobile Worker, Issei was trying to calm down as he could feel his heart beating against his rib cage. His hands were shaking anytime he tried to move the controls. It was like his entire body was struggling to function properly.

" _...Then about think about it like this, Issei. What would happen to Rias if you don't kill the enemy forces trying to get inside?_ "

He furrowed his eyebrows and a confused expression formed on his face, "W-What do you mean?"

" _Answer the damn question,_ " Kiba demanded, trying another route to help his friend rationalize this entire battle for him.

Taking a moment to think about it, Issei knew Gjallarhorn had better things to do than worry about what the CGS was doing. It was only after Kudelia arriving with Rias and Akeno that they attacked their base. If he had to guess? Gjallarhorn is probably after the three of them as he knew each girl was important to some degree as Kudelia wanted to travel to Earth, Rias came from a wealthy and influential family, and Akeno was most likely something similar to her best friend.

"Gjallarhorn wants to capture the girls," answered Issei.

Kiba's chuckle was heard on the comms, " _Well, I don't think that is the case here._ "

"But, that makes sense, doesn't it?" Issei fired back, wondering what his friend was getting at.

" _You're not wrong to think that way_ ," he replied to Issei before revealing his thoughts. " _Given how much ordinance they used in the initial attack and how hard they've been attacking our forces, I think they're here to make sure no one makes it out alive from here. I'm pretty sure the same goes for the girls too._ "

Issei didn't believe him, "You're lying! What the hell is the point of all this then?"

Kiba shrugged inside his Mobile Worker as he let off a few rounds at an enemy unit, " _Beats me, but I do know one thing._ "

"What's that?"

" _That if we die...the others will die too. So, what will you do, brother? Fight to protect Rias, who I know you care about more than anything else. Or, let her die in this hell hole that we've been damned to for years by everyone on this rotten world, including God himself._ "

Silence filled the comms as Kiba waited for Issei's response. Then, an enemy unit rushed towards them as Kiba was about to squeeze the trigger once more until Issei beat him to the punch. Canons came to life as they fired off round after round into the enemy unit until it blew up.

"You know what? For a pretty boy, you certainly do make a good motivational speaker," Issei said with a snort, making Kiba laugh at his friend's words.

 **BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!**

The ground began to shake as nearby explosions rocked the area. As Issei and Kiba wondered what was happening, they heard the others over the comms link. Both of them heard Eugene a phrase that none of them wanted to hear, " _Mobile Suits? We can't win against those things!_ "

He wasn't the only one as others starting adding in their own opinions. Shino spoke up from inside his Mobile Worker, " _What are we going to do?_ "

Someone else spoke up, " _We have to run!_ "

" _Where to?_ " questioned Akihiro.

"That's right," Orga announced. "There's no place to run. There never was, right, Mika?"

On Orga's left was Mika, who currently sits on the top of his Mobile Worker. He nodded at his friend's question, "Yes."

Mika then looked up at his friend, "So, what should I do next, Orga?" he asked.

Looking at his long-time friend, Orga couldn't help but remember when they were kids. When they decided that they were going to a place where they belong, no matter what obstacles stands in their way. Now, this was just another obstacle in their path. And it was one that Orga intended on defeating.

Orga couldn't help but grin at the memory of a younger Mika with blood splattered on his face. He looked at his friend since all those years ago, "I have a job for you, Mika. A job only you can do."

 **X-X-X**

The plan was quite simple; keep the enemy Mobile Suits busy.

As the remaining forces of Third Corps continued to hammer away at the Mobile Suit, they continued to suffer loss after loss against it. However, Orga wasn't about to give up, even in the face of such odds, "We just need to buy time until Mika gets back. Then we can strike a blow in our rotten situation."

Those still alive, did their best to survive against the Mobile Suit and keep it busy. During the skirmish, the Mobile Suit started firing at the facility, causing some damage in the process. Danji noticed this, letting his emotions get the best of him.

"The base! Stop it, my comrades are there!"

Danji fired off a flurry of rounds at the enemy, attempting to save those at the facility. However, the rounds didn't do any real damage to the machine. Instead, it turned around and, before anyone could do anything, kicked the Mobile Worker, crushing it as if it was just an annoying pest. It was silent until Shino cried out Danji's name on the comms.

Hearing Shino on the comms, Orga grimaced at the sight of someone else dying. "Keep moving. Just a little longer... just a little..."

"Orga!" cried out Eugene, "It's looking right at us!"

Turning around, the young leader saw the Mobile Suit turn its head in their direction. It opened up, revealing a massive, black eye that lit up yellow, "Are you the one in charge?" the pilot mockingly asked.

In response, Eugene pushed the Mobile Worker to its limit to get out of range of the enemy. "I'm gonna die!" he said over and over again.

While in comparison, Orga remained calm as ever.

"I will not die. I will never die!" he yelled in defiance over the comms. "Not like this."

Eugene continued to evade the enemy's fire. "Not here!" yelled Orga. Suddenly, Eugene stops and made his machine face the enemy. Orga looked right at the Mobile Suit, "It can't end here! Right, Mika?!"

Out of nowhere, the ground in front of them exploded. Amongst the dirt, there was the sight of a Mobile Suit that was kept in the engine room. It was wielding a massive, black spear armed with a giant spiked end. As it was coming down, the Gjallarhorn Mobile Suit was met with the massive spear smashing against the cockpit area, causing immense damage to the machine and killing the pilot in the process.

As Orga watched the scene unfold, it brought him back a memory of when he and Mika decided to take this path.

 **' _Hey, what should I do next, Orga?_ '**

 **' _It's obvious. We are going._ '**

 **' _To where?_ '**

 **' _To somewhere not here. To the place where we truly belong._ '**

Mika couldn't help but remember that day himself, realizing that this was the first step to obtaining their dream. "Yes, let's go. All of us... together."

* * *

 **Uh, yeah! I really like this idea of crossing over these two franchises since they're quite the opposite of each other. Anyway, I'm curious what you guys think about the thing going on between Issei and Rias? From what I can tell you guys is this much; their relationship will evolve over the course of the story, especially when we get closer to Earth...**

 **And outside of that, the NBA is pretty much back and I will be watching basketball, so there's that.**

 **Other than that, I'll see ya guys later!**


	3. Maidens of the Dragon

_**THIS IS A WARNING:**_ **I don't own a single damn thing being used in this story. Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans and Highschool DxD belong to their owners/creators!**

* * *

 _ **EPISODE THREE: MAIDENS OF THE DRAGON**_

* * *

 **CHRYSE GUARD SECURITY (CGS) FACILITY**

 **EARLY MORNING**

This was supposed to be an easy mission for their forces, and this happens to be a common thought running through the minds of every single soldier participating in the operation to take down the paramilitary force known as the Chryse Guard Security. All they had to do was overwhelm the enemy force with their superior numbers and advanced technology, causing the enemy troops to quickly lose morale and give Gjallarhorn an easy victory and accomplish their goal; killing Kudelia Aina Bernstein.

Hell, there were rumors suggesting the only daughter of the Gremory family was also inside the base, something which caught the attention of one individual taking part in the attack.

Crank was brought back to reality after hearing his student's voice over the comms, making the older officer look at the wreckage of the commander, and someone who happened to be his former student a few years ago.

"I-It c-can't be...commander Orlis is d-dead?"

Instead of an easy assignment, Crank was forced to witness an enemy who didn't seem to back down in the least bit, but seem to be getting even more aggressive than any of their officers anticipated the forces of the company to be. His eyes remained glued to his monitor as Crank and his student, Ein, watched as an enemy Mobile Suit made its presence known on the battlefield by using a giant, spiked spear and proceeded to kill his former student, who was the overall commander of this assignment to destroy the facility.

'Damn it!' Crank cursed, gripping the controls of his Mobile Suit even tighter than before. He even noticed how the mechanical hands on Ein's suit were twitching a little bit.

The older man kept a stoic look on his face as he knew the situation wasn't looking too good for them. Quickly, he typed a series of orders for the officer leading their Mobile Workers, telling them to retreat to the coordinates he provided them.

He felt a bit relieved when the officer followed his orders without questioning them. Now that he had one less issue to stress about, Crank focused back on the enemy Mobile Suit standing about a less three hundred and fifty meters across from Ein and himself.

Even if their Grazes were far more advanced than this Mobile Suit being used against their forces. Deciding to take advantage of this fact, Crank called out to his student, "Ein! Back me up!"

"Yes, sir!"

As Crank activated the thrusters on the back of his machine, quickly pushing forward in hope of overpowering the enemy machine without causing too much damage to their forces in the process. Much to his confusion, Crank saw the enemy do the same thing but weren't charging either of them.

'What must this pilot be thinking?' the older man questioned in his mind, yet, he soon received his answer when the enemy Mobile Suit headed in the direction of their retreating Mobile Workers. Crank's eyes widened in surprise before trying to contact the officer commanding them.

"Lieutenant! Th-"

Instead of hearing the officer's voice, Crank heard the screams of men as the enemy Mobile Suit landed on top of them, crushing the Mobile Workers underneath its feet. Seeing this happen, the man realized what the pilot was doing. He knew they wouldn't fire their ranged weaponry as they would run the risk of hitting their own men in the process. Grinding his teeth together, Crank wanted to end this without needlessly spilling the blood of those who didn't deserve to die in this game Major Coral forced them to play.

While Crank was dealing with this feeling of guilt and anger at the very organization he was working for, Ein was taking this entire situation very differently than Crank.

"Crank, sir, let me deal with this threat!" Ein pleaded, feeling a burning hatred for the mysterious Mobile Suit, who killed his commanding officer. If anyone was going to get revenge for his commander, it was going to be Ein and no one else.

Applying pressure on the controls, Ein raced forward, following close behind his mentor until he saw the horned Mobile Suit moving around their flanks, making Ein turn his machine in the direction of the enemy. He didn't hesitate to raise the standard issued assault rifle and aim it in the direction of the horned Mobile Suit.

"Ein! Look!"

Hearing the voice of his mentor, the young man saw what the older man was talking about, "Gah! He's heading for our Mobile Workers!?" yelled Ein, trying to keep his anger from taking over.

Yanking on the controls, the Graze came to a stop as it kept its rifle aimed at the horned Mobile Suit, which happens to be using their forces as hostages. Ein didn't let his feelings go unnoticed, "Bastard, how dare you attack our Mobile Workers?!"

The enemy remained silent at the words of the Gjallarhorn officer, further aggravating Ein and making him switch out his rifle for a large axe-like weapon used for close-range fighting. Wanting to end this engagement as soon as possible, Ein pushed forward even as his mentor was calling out to him to stop.

Ein wanted to prove himself to his teacher, "I can defeat them! Even without a rifle!"

However, the enemy's next move was a puzzling decision as the horned Mobile Suit threw the giant, spiked spear at his Mobile Suit.

His training kicked in as his hands immediately made the proper adjustments and his axe deflected the spear, forcing the object to go flying upwards. A small smirk of victory appeared on Ein's face until it was replaced by a confused expression. There was supposed to be a horned Mobile Suit standing in front of him without any means of defending himself.

"W-Where did it go?" he muttered as his scanners didn't pick up anything.

"Ein! Above you!"

The words from his mentor made Ein look up, horrified to see the horned Mobile Suit coming back down to the ground as it grabbed the spear. With the moment it carried, Ein couldn't react quick enough until it was too late.

When the horned Mobile Suit got close enough to the ground, it swung the spear in a downward motion, tearing off the arm of Ein's machine in one foul swoop. As the dust began to rise in the air, Crank saw an opportunity to help his student in the fight against the horned Mobile Suit, which was giving them more trouble than either of them anticipated.

Using the cloud of dust to his advantage, Crank rushed forward with the intention of hitting the horned Mobile Suit while it was distracted. Lifting his melee weapon, Crank swung it with the idea of disabling the enemy to allow him and Ein to escape the area and return to the troops who survived the initial assault.

Unfortunately, it seemed like the enemy was prepared and managed to use the giant, spiked spear to block the incoming attack. Steel versus steel as it soon became a battle of strength between the two behemoths. Needing to end this quickly, Crank tried to use the strength of his machine to defeat the enemy.

"I don't know where you got such an ancient machine, but how can it hope to stand against a Graze of Gjallarhorn!?" Crank said through the external speakers of the Mobile Suit. His hope was that the enemy would decide to back off and allow Crank to get Ein out of here. However, the response he got made the man pause in disbelief.

"It looked like this one was almost dead anyway." the enemy pilot replied, his voice sounding far too young for someone who was putting up such a good fight against two Grazes. It didn't take long for Crank to come to the realization that the person piloting the horned Mobile Suit was a young boy.

There was only one name for such a young man. ' _A child soldier..._ ' thought Crank, feeling like completely disgusted by the idea of having to fight children.

He wanted to make sure he wasn't overthinking this situation. "C-Could it be...your a c-child?" Crank asked, nervous as to what answer he might get from the pilot operating the horned Mobile Suit.

"Yes..." the pilot revealed, confirming the older man's fears. "...And so have all the others you've killed here today."

That second piece of information made Crank's heart shatter into millions of pieces. If he was right in his assumption, then there was a pretty good chance that the vast majority of their kills have been children no older than his granddaughter, who's rumored to be on the base alongside Kudelia Aina Bernstein. After hearing that bit of news, it only seems to make Crank's day even worse.

"Lieutenant Crank!" the older man heard the sound of Ein's voice over the comms, making him look at his student. In the time while Crank was keeping the enemy Mobile Suit busy, Ein was able to find his assault rifle and wanted to make sure his mentor wasn't caught in the line of fire.

Just as Ein was about to fire, Crank saw the enemy Mobile Suit's head turn for a split second before pushing itself away from Crank, preventing the heavy rounds from hitting it. As Crank saw the enemy move with a grace that seemed almost impossible for a Mobile Suit to have in this day and age, "What amazing reflexes..."

Suddenly, the thrusters on the back of the horned Mobile Suit seem to be having issues as the machine quickly landed back on the ground.

Seeing the opportunity presented to him, Ein readjusted the aim of his GR-WO1 rifle before letting off round after round of 120 mm shells fly. Much to his annoyance, Ein was soon met by a thick cloud of dust created by the pilot of the enemy machine. He clicked his tongue as he heard Crank warn him, but waved off the concern of his mentor, trying to prove how an old Mobile Suit piloted by a Martian couldn't hope to defeat a Graze of Gjallarhorn.

Without realizing it, Ein heard Crank's voice on the comms, "Ein, below you!"

A sense of fear and anxiety prevented him from doing anything as he saw the familiar shape of gold horns glistening from the light coming off the rising sun. For a moment, it looked beautiful until he realizes what was attached to those horns. Thinking his life might come to an end, Ein silently prayed that all he's done has lived up to the dreams of his mother and, surprisingly, his father.

' _Mom, I hope you're proud of me_ ,' Ein thought, a sad smile appearing on his face as he tried to recall the face of his mother. In his mind, he was waiting for death to come to his door, but today death wouldn't claim him as there was far too much potential for someone like Ein to go to waste.

Before the giant, spiked spear could penetrate the cockpit area of the Mobile Suit, Crank was able to rush across the battlefield and redirect the enemy's attack. Unfortunately, a good portion of the machine was heavily damaged from that attack as numerous chunks were thrown, ripped, or warped beyond thought. Deciding to use his thrusters, Crank made a cloud of dust and used it to cover their retreat from the area.

Wanting to make sure his student was still alive, Crank made contact with Ein, "Are you alright, Ein?"

The young officer, who was currently bleeding from the corner of his lip while holding his arm that appeared to be either bruised or, possibly, fractured from the pain he was feeling. Outside of those, Ein had a couple of bruises and scratches but was relatively in good shape after surviving an attack aimed with the intention of killing him.

"Yes, I'm alright."

Crank was pleased to hear that bit of news, "Good, we'll make our way over to the rendezvous point. All the remaining Mobile Workers are waiting for us to make our way to them."

Ein wasn't pleased to hear those orders, "B-But, sir, w-"

"Retreat, nothing else."

Begrudgingly, Ein accepted those orders, but it certainly by no means meant he liked those orders. So, Ein leaned back into his seat and waited until they got back to base, where they would have to explain this mess to Major Coral, of all people.

Giving him the report wasn't going to be any fun in the least bit, thought Ein.

In the other Graze, Crank was feeling something else right now. He felt somewhat relieved to know his granddaughter was safe, for now. With the way the situation was playing out, the older man knew the chances of her being there had gone up, especially after remembering the words of his grandson; Sirzechs, who sent him a message just before the attack.

" _ **I know what is being asked of you, but you need to know Rias and Akeno are going to be traveling with Kudelia to Earth. Please, I know this is asking a lot of from you...but please try and save my sister, grandfather.**_ "

' _You're asking quite a bit from me, Sirzechs_...' the man thought until he saw the small picture of his family sitting in one corner of a computer screen, ' _...However, if it means I can save my family, then I'm willing to do anything_.'

* * *

 ** _Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Dragon_**

* * *

 **CHRYSE REGION**

 **AROUND THE SAME TIME**

Asia always loved seeing the sight of the sun rising over the horizon, giving her the feeling that each day had the potential to become something special all on its own. With such a thought in mind, the young woman looked back down at the dirt path she was walking on. The reason for her being up so early in the morning had something to do with her daily routine of visiting a nearby cemetery on the outskirts of the Chryse Region.

When she saw the familiar stone marker in the distance, Asia's smile didn't seem to lose its brightness in any way, shape, or form. Upon reaching the stone marker, the young woman didn't need to look around for someone to point her in the right direction, she had already memorized the path to the gravestone she's been seeing for years now. Within a few minutes of walking past numerous graves, some of which looked defiled and some even looked like they were dug up.

It was a sad thing for Asia to see, realizing how dangerous it can get on Mars for even the deceased. Except, most of those who pass away, are thrown into makeshift ditches meant to represent their graves. Times were tough and the ability to afford a proper burial was something out of the reach of many people.

Although, Asia felt guilty for smiling in a place where so many loved ones are now lying dead, away from their families and friends. When she felt the wind pick-up, Asia soon caught a glimpse of what looked like a church in the distance as it appeared to be abandoned and nearly ripped apart.

Most people would think to stay away from the sight of a ruined church as the idea of religion died out a very long time ago. Most people felt betrayed or left behind by God in a place where the solar system has done nothing other than to cause despair and destruction everywhere. So, it comes as a surprise when people find out about Asia continuing to pray and believe in a figure many had abandoned decades ago.

Although, the young woman had a different thought running in her mind besides her belief in a forgotten figure, and it revolved around a boy she cared about immensely, someone who's been a blessing in her life.

' _I wonder how Issei is doing? He did look exhausted the last time we saw each other_ ,' Asia felt a pang of concern as she hadn't heard anything from her friend in the last few days. She happen to squeeze the stem of the rose she was carrying in her hand.

Not many people cared about the fate of child soldiers like Issei, someone she's been friends with for years now. Even thinking about the potential of being killed made Asia worry about her friend if he doesn't contact her for more than a few days.

Letting out a sigh, the young woman wanted to understand why someone as kind as Issei turned to a life of being a child soldier, a fate worse than death in the eyes of some living on Mars. As she felt a sudden gust of wind, Asia felt her long, golden hair being blown around, making her realize how pointless it is to think about something like this.

Her reasoning? A promise that Issei made to her when they first met little over two years ago.

" _ **Asia, listen to me, I promise you this much; I will always protect you from those who want to harm you, even till my last breath. That means I'll always come back to you...**_ "

Putting a hand over her heart, Asia felt a strange but welcoming sensation in her chest. For a moment, a thought came to her but quickly shoved it to the side as it caused her to blush bright red. Shaking her head, Asia resumed her journey to the gravestone hidden inside the church.

Over a few minutes later, the young woman made her way around the decrepit church, trying to find the broken window she's been using to get into the place for years. Her eyes widened in elation when she saw the same old window with broken pieces of stained glass on the floor. Doing her best to avoid the glass, Asia entered the church, one that used to service Christians well over a hundred years ago.

It still amazes her how the building still even stands to this day.

Looking up, she saw the once beautifully painted ceiling, was now riddled with holes, paint that's been chipped away, and the signs of birds taking residence in the roof. Meanwhile, the rest of the church could be seen to be in similar conditions, something Asia found to be quite depressing. It was the same feeling she's had for the last three years since starting her early morning routine of coming here for one reason.

What could such a reason be? Her eyes looked towards the front of the church, searching for the familiar sight of a gravestone underneath the fallen cross.

Asia's smile seems to fade from her face and was replaced by a melancholy expression, which seemed utterly wrong on the young woman's face. Her bright green eyes seem to lose some of their luster the closer she got to it.

When standing in front of it, the gravestone didn't look all that different from any other one someone finds in a graveyard. However, for Asia, it was one of a kind as the name carved on the stone caused her to kneel.

 **In loving memory of Griselda Quarta**

 **A kind mother who was loved by all**

 **May she find peace in the afterlife**

 **Died on April 27, 2320 P.D**

A single tear could be seen streaking across Asia's face, which appeared to be serene as the young woman looked to be praying as she folded her hands together and closed her eyes. A part of her still couldn't believe that it's been over three years since Griselda had died. Most would think such a gap in her heart could never be filled again after losing Griselda that night.

Opening her eyes again, Asia smiled after remembering something Griselda had told her and another girl when they came under her custody, " _ **I don't care what someone tells you, both of you are my daughters at the end of the day. Never forget that, okay?**_ "

Taking those words to heart, Asia always tried to repay Griselda for taking in an orphan like her from off the streets. However, the young woman felt like nothing could ever come close to the sacrifices her foster mother made during the time when she was still alive.

"Morning Griselda," Asia greeted the gravestone of her deceased foster mother. "Things have been going well at the shop. Atra and I have to make a delivery to the CGS base this morning. I know you wouldn't approve of me being friends with some of the kids there, but I know you would like Issei..."

The young woman knew her foster mother wouldn't approve of the small perverted side to Issei, but outside of that trait of his, Asia was sure Griselda would've come to like the boy. Just thinking about the potential of those two meeting put a smile back on her teary-eyed face and it wasn't long before she raised her hand and wiped the tears away.

"I miss you, mom," Asia felt like an ungrateful child for calling Griselda that name after so long.

 **X-X-X**

 **CHRYSE REGION, FRONTIER SHOP**

 **TWENTY MINUTES LATER**

Atra was never one to worry about Asia, especially given how her friend always left early in the morning to go see the grave of her foster mother. Sighing for what seemed like the millionth time in the last hour or so, Atra leaned against the truck currently filled with supplies for the nearby base. A place that was home to people who she and Asia were good friends, and who also happen to be child soldiers.

The term never sat well with Atra, even if many of them accepted their fate as one of the thousands of kids being killed simply because they're a source of cheap soldiers.

' _I know Mika and the others told me to not worry about it_ ,' Atra reminded herself, remembering what Orga and Mika said about their fate.

" _ **If we've learned anything about this world, it's this much; survival shows proof that we're still alive and kicking. So we're gonna keep fighting until every last drop of our blood has been spilled for what we believe in, Atra.**_ "

She knew how much the others looked up to Orga, especially a young man by the name of Issei. The same person who she could tell Asia was in love with.

Atra's reasoning for making this assumption? It was the look in Asia's eyes whenever she was around Issei whenever they got to see each other. There was a longing in Asia's eyes that said more than words could ever do. Something Atra was familiar with as she looked at another member of Third Corp with a similar look. Though, people would call her crazy for thinking anyone could like Mikazuki Augus, a young man who had a knack for being a coldblooded killer on the battlefield.

' _None of them know him like I do_ ,' is the girl's response to some people who didn't know Third Corp like her and Asia did. Outside of the two of them, they always heard how group said they didn't ask for this life and felt like they were the outcast of society.

The same could be said for Mika, something a lot of people wouldn't be able to believe considering what he was capable of pulling off.

Even then, there was this nagging feeling in the back of her mind about today. It was strange, but Atra merely chucked it up to the fact that Third Corp was going to be away for a while on a new assignment. From what Mika told her, it involved Third Corp escorting a group of people to Earth, the birthplace of humanity.

Looking up at the morning sky, Atra always wanted to see what Earth looked like, especially after hearing all the stories about the beautiful blue oceans, white clouds filling the sky, and the many forests covering the land. All of it sounded amazing to her, and something Atra wishes she could see in her lifetime.

While Atra was lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice the familiar sight of Asia coming towards her. Currently, the young blonde woman was wearing a dark green blouse with a pair of black pants alongside brown boots. Just as Asia saw Atra waiting by the truck, she felt guilty for making her friend wait so long and immediately called out to her, "Atra!"

At first, the girl didn't respond to Asia calling out to her, making the blonde wonder what's wrong. Upon reaching her, Asia waved a hand in front of Atra for a few seconds until the latter finally snapped out of her stupor and looked at her friend, who looked concerned.

"O-Oh you're back, Asia," Atra said as she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"What's wrong, Atra?" Asia asked.

The shorter girl shook her head, "You don't need to worry. I was just thinking about today's delivery to the base..."

Hearing those words was enough for Asia to realize what her friend was talking about just now. Third Corp's mission to Earth and it meant Asia wouldn't be seeing Issei anytime soon. From what she heard, it's supposed to take about a few months if what Mika told them was true.

' _Issei is going to be gone for months_ ,' the thought of her closest friend being away for such a long period of time was heartbreaking to her to say the least.

A silence hung between the two friends as they each dwelled on the reality of their friends.

The first to break the silence was Atra, who tried her hardest to seem upbeat, "Let's just start heading to the base, I'm sure they must be waiting for us."

Asia tried to return the smile, "I'm sure they are."

* * *

 _ **Mobile Suit Gundam: Tekkadan's Iron-Blooded Dragon**_

* * *

 **GJALLARHORN SPACE STATION**

 **A FEW HOURS LATER**

"What do you mean?!"

Orbiting thousands of kilometers above the surface of Mars is a massive Gjallarhorn space station. Major Coral Conrad, commander of all forces on Mars, was in the middle of a dire situation. He was recently contacted by Norman Bernstein, father of Kudelia Aina Bernstein, who is the leader of the Mars independence movement.

The man had asked the Major to attack the paramilitary group called Chryse Guard Security, a company his daughter was contracting to take her to Earth.

Unfortunately, Norman couldn't have his daughter doing such a thing. This would cause further chaos within the economic blocs of Earth and cause further issues with Gjallarhorn. Besides the consequences of doing such a thing, her actions would reflect poorly on their family. The man wanted to save the legacy of their family, and in his mind, this was the only way to save face and bring his daughter's dream of Mars becoming independent to life.

Major Coral Conrad took this opportunity as he was contacted by a man named Nobliss Gordon. He was told that if he completed this job then the Major would be heavily compensated for the effort he was going to put into this job, especially considering the fact that he saw sending an entire company of Mobile Workers to the surface.

Even sending three Mobile Suits as insurance should the plan start to go awry.

"Fail? How could you fail?" the Major yelled, frustrated at the news he was getting from First Lieutenant Crank Zent.

Crank began giving his report to Major Coral, " _Commander Orlis Stenja has died. We lost a third of our soldiers in the battle, including a Graze. We had to retreat._ "

It was short and concise. As Crank awaited for further orders, Major Coral slammed his fist on his desk, not bothering to hide how he was feeling about this situation. This wasn't how it was supposed to play out. Not even close, the older man thought.

"Don't fool with me!"

He looked down at his desk, seeing a file on Kudelia Aina Bernstein. The plan was for her to die in their attack, causing the Martian revolution to go into further turmoil as a result of losing their leader and a critical piece in obtaining their goals. With her death, it would strengthen the Martian's hatred of Earth, making the rift between the two worlds to increase.

Or, that was how it was supposed to play out.

Aside from this devastating setback, there was another reason why the Major was desperate to have this plan succeed. He was expecting a pair of inspectors from the Regulatory Bureau to arrive in the next few days, but with how little time he had to work with, the man had to make his move carefully. Not only were these inspectors going to become a problem for him and future plans, but Coral was informed about the rumors of the Grigori beginning to increase their military presence in the space between Mars and Earth.

There was the idea of rebellion springing across the solar system, an idea which concerned the major leaders of Gjallarhorn.

Raising his head, he looked over to one of the soldiers in the room, "When will Specialist Major Fareed arrive?"

"He will be arriving in two days, sir," the soldier replied, which only served to piss off the Major even more than before.

Coral then looked back Crank, "Listen," he said, "Capture Kudelia no matter what by then. And erase all evidence of the battle. Erase the enemy as well."

Crank seems to look away from the screen for a moment, making Coral raise an eyebrow at this behavior, "What?" he demanded, not in the mood for games. Not only was his job on the line, but his reputation as well. This only made them even more nervous than before.

" _The enemy are children._ "

At first, the Major didn't respond to Crank's statement. It was only after the man leaned back in his seat and looked at Crank, "You were beaten by brats? Is that what you're telling me?"

Crank nodded.

"Who cares!" the Major shouted, "Gun them all down if you have to and leave none of them alive."

" _They're children!_ " the First Lieutenant yelled back. " _I cannot bring myself to fight children who may not be fighting on their own will._ "

"I don't care! I gave you an order," the Major replied, fed up with Crank's words. "I will not allow failure! Do you hear me, First Lieutenant Crank Zent! This girl is more important than that entire rock of a planet."

* * *

 _ **Mobile Suit Gundam: Tekkadan's Iron-Blooded Dragon**_

* * *

 **CHRYSE GUARD SECURITY (CGS) FACILITY**

 **AN HOUR LATER**

When Mikazuki woke up, the first thing he felt was a sudden, sharp pain in his back. As he sat up straight, the young man felt the pain only get worse until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking in the direction of the hand, Mikazuki saw Mr. Yukinojo.

"Sorry, I didn't want to cut you out while you were unconscious," the old man said with a smile.

Except, that wasn't what Mikazuki wanted to hear.

He lowered his heads, asking the question that's been on his mind, "How many did we lose?" he asked.

The old man sighed, knowing that this was inevitable, "Forty-two from Third Corp died and Sixty-eight died in First Corp."

Mr. Yukinojo knew the young man wanted to save more of his comrades, but it was pointless to think such a thing. Sure, most people would've love to save everyone, but if Mikazuki was able to save the rest of Third Corp from defeating those Mobile Suits then he was going to have to accept the losses they took in battle.

People die. It was a common fact for people like Mikazuki and the rest of Third Corp.

Leaning over, Mr. Yukinojo started the process of cutting Mikazuki from the machine. As he was doing this, he spoke up, "You... you and this machine did a good job."

Upon hearing that, Mikazuki remembered the battle between him and the Mobile Suits of Gjallarhorn...

It was a tough having to use a Mobile Suit like Barbatos for the first time. Certainly wished that he had gotten used to the machine prior, but there was no time. This battle was going to end with Third Corp surviving or becoming just another group of dead kids like others across Mars.

However, one thing stuck out the most during the battle.

' ** _C-Could it be... y-you're a child?_** '

The pilot of the Mobile Suit at the time sounded surprised when he heard Mikazuki's voice. The reaction was... interesting, to say the least. Except, Mikazuki hardly cared about the reaction and only thought about surviving the battle. He was going to use every single trick in the book to win this fight. No cost was too high for victory, something Third Corp had come to accept as their reality.

In order to win, people have to be willing to spill the enemy's blood and their own blood.

Once he felt the cable become unattached, Mikazuki knew that there was a lot of work to be done around the facility. His eyes could already make out numerous Mobile Workers being hauled back to the facility. Mikazuki also knew that body bags were going to be arriving just behind them.

' _I wonder what Orga is doing right now?_ ' he thought, curious what his oldest friend is doing.

 **X-X-X**

 **A FEW MINUTES LATER**

When Mika managed to drive off the enemy Mobile Suits, Third Corp went to work in the field as they began performing a series of tasks that's become a habit for them. From cleaning up the wrecks of their Mobile Workers, finding the corpses of those they once called friends, and scavenging the enemy side for anything of value.

Although, they've been working in the field for the last few hours now.

"Okay! On three, Kiba!"

Leaning down, Issei gripped the piece of metal as hard as he could and looked at Kiba, who nodded to him. Once the two of them firmly gripped the hatch of the Mobile Worker, or what remained of the machine anyway. Taking a second to gather himself, Issei let out a sigh and started counting down, "One! Two! Three! Pull!"

The young men pulled on the top of the hatch with as much force as they could, and before long, they felt the metal hatch pop out of place, allowing them to see the interior of the machine. Issei threw the metal over the side of the machine and onto the ground. He looked back and saw Kiba reaching into the wreck, trying to pull out the body of who had piloted it. As soon as Kiba pulled the corpse out of the cockpit, Issei quickly rushed in and helped him out.

"Hey! We got another one!" Kiba yelled to those waiting at the bottom.

' _Still can't believe what happened here today_ ,' Issei thought while he scanned the area and saw other members of Third Corp doing the same thing as them.

Issei saw two other members of Third Corp rushing over to them and helped bring the body down to the ground. Once the body of their fellow comrade was out of their sight, Issei leaned against the wreckage of the Mobile Worker and looked like he was trying to prevent himself from throwing up. Kiba saw what was going on and patted his best friend on his back.

"Just take a deep breath," Kiba said, hoping his advice could help out Issei.

A few moments later, Issei managed to stand up straight while telling Kiba that he was fine now. They soon heard Chad, one of the older members of Third Corp, call out to them, "Hey! I need one of you guys over here."

"Gi-"

Just as Issei was about to respond, Kiba beat him to the punch and cut him off, "Sure thing, Chad! I'll be there in a sec!"

Chad merely nodded before going back to work and helping out with the scavenge job. Meanwhile, Issei looked at Kiba and was confused as to what his friend was doing, "Uh, why did you cut me off like that?" he asked with a confused expression on his face.

"Look," Kiba said, grabbing Issei's attention. "I know this is pretty uncomfortable for you. Besides, I think there's something else you should be doing right now. Or, rather you should be asking to go see someone...like the beautiful redhead who's standing behind us."

"What?"

Issei turned his head and, just as Kiba said, saw Rias standing behind them. Her teal eyes looked like they were on the verge of tears. He felt someone pat him on the shoulder, "Well, looks like you'll be a bit preoccupied for the time," Issei's best friend whispered to him.

With those final words, Kiba turned around and walked over to where Chad was currently working. Once the two of them were alone, Issei made his way over to Rias, "Look, I w-"

 _ **SLAP!**_

Before he could even continue speaking, Rias struck him across the face. The redhead was running high on her emotions right now. She didn't know whether to feel joy at seeing the man she cared about, still alive after hearing how brutal the battle turned out to be or slap him for worrying her like that. Given how little time she had to think, Rias decided to do both. Just after she slapped him, the young woman grabbed the sides of his face as gently as possible before slamming her lips against his.

This action caught the attention of those working around them. Most people believed child soldiers could care less about those around them, especially since they were all bound to die at some point in their young lives. However, those people couldn't be farther from the truth about Third Corp. In their eyes, they considered each other to be family as most of them didn't have one and so they relied on each other as there was no one else for them to turn towards.

So, instead of being met with eyes of those who could give zero fucks about the scene playing out, Issei heard some of them snickering and others whistling at them. Although, he mentally groaned when some of them started to comment on the situation.

"Get that!"

"Looks like Issei moved up in the world."

"Shit, didn't think you had it, man!"

Deciding to ignore them, Issei focused on the beautiful girl in his arms. However, he and Rias soon felt someone come between them and ripped them apart from each other. When Issei was about to complain, his eyes widened out of shock and his face became pale.

Standing between Issei and Rias was the familiar girl with blonde hair and bright green eyes, who happen to look adorable even though she was pouting.

"A-A-Asia!?"

* * *

 **Alright, I know you guys were expecting another big ass chapter, but I'm going to have to put those on hiatus for the time. Time is not exactly something I have a lot right now, especially with the only free time I have is being able to watch NBA games. So, I'm going to experiment with shorter chapters and spreading things out for me.**

 **And sorry about the late update too! Work and school have been killing me! But I ain't giving up on the story!**

 **Outside of that, I don't have much else to say. So, I'll see you guys later!**


	4. A Bitter Reality

**_THIS IS A WARNING_ : I don't own a single damn thing being used in this story. Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans and Highschool DxD belong to their owners/creators!**

* * *

 _ **EPISODE FOUR: A BITTER REALITY**_

* * *

 **CHRYSE REGION**

 **A FEW YEARS AGO**

 _Orga knew the wound was only going to get worse if it wasn't treated properly soon. He let out a hiss of pain as Mika tightly wrapped a piece of cloth just above his wound to prevent him from bleeding more than he already was right now. When Mika stepped back, Orga looked down at the wound with a bit of annoyance._

 _He clicked his teeth to show it, 'I didn't think Mika would've taken so long if I didn't get in the way like an idiot,' the young boy told himself._

 _After killing the man in the alleyway, Mika and Orga had lived through another encounter with another criminal who took advantage of those desperate enough to run into him. Except, today was the man's last day after being the one to go off and annoy the young boys._

 _Unlike most other kids on the street, Mika and Orga were willing to do anything and everything to survive in a place like Mars. It was only reinforced when Orga made it clear to his friend about the place that awaits them. A place where they could finally be free of the plague known as Mars._

 _Although, the first thing was to find a place to settle down and treat Orga's wound from their rather annoying encounter with this man. Letting out a small hiss of pain, Orga stretched out his hand towards Mika._

 _The shorter boy grasped the idea and took Orga by the hand, helping him off the ground. Soon, the two boys looked to the mouth of the alleyway and walked back onto a more populated street. Well, the idea of being more 'populated' seemed a bit much as they either saw more homeless individuals or those suffering from drug addiction. Granted, it was better to have a few people around than none at all._

 _"Hey, Orga, where are we going?" Mika asked, his cold blue eyes contained this strange sense of innocence for someone who just killed a man._

 _Looking at the street they were on, the wounded boy realized that finding a place to crash was gonna be tough, especially when it gets dark and more unsavory people start coming out for their business. Those who lived on Mars for a long enough period of time, understood the danger of living in this region. Just as they walked past an alleyway, both of them heard the familiar noise of a man and woman having sex not too far from them. Hearing such noise made the two boys uncomfortable as they knew prostitution was commonplace here._

 _Quickly, they put some distance between them and that alleyway as their search for a place to sleep continued onward. While Mika was capable of warding off most people, Orga knew that if they faced a group during the night, then death was surely coming for them._

 _As the sun continued to set, the orange glow of the Martian sky was soon being replaced by the dark and cold Martian night. If there was one surefire way of getting killed in this part of the city, it was being outside where it was pretty hard to be spotted._

 _"...I think we need to find a place to sleep for the night," Orga answered, still needing to change this cloth as it was soaked in his blood. Besides that, he could feel the fatigue hitting him like a bag of bricks._

 _Mika nodded, "You're right..."_

 _Suddenly, the two boys looked down the street and saw a beautiful young woman with long, black hair and a pair of gorgeous violet eyes, kneeling in front of a little boy. For them, they hardly ever paid any attention to these situations regarding someone to stop by and help. Except, Mika and Orga saw the little boy and where he was sitting right now._

 _In this place, it was a common tactic for a gang or group of people to use a child as bait to lure someone in. This either meant they were looking to rob someone of what little valuables they may possess or, in the case of the woman, they were in the mood for something else. Sure, Mika and Orga weren't always going to go around and save everyone from a fate worse than death. People needed to be able to save themselves from these situations, especially given how dangerous it is to be on Mars._

 _Except, when they saw the boy point towards the alleyway, it was all the proof either of them needed before Orga scowled at what was about to happen. So, letting his anger guide him, walked over to them with Mika following close behind him, keeping the handgun ready in case._

 _"Hey!" Orga yelled, catching the attention of the woman and the child, who looked a bit nervous at seeing him and Mika walking towards them._

 _The woman tilted her head to the side in confusion, "Is there something I can do for you, boys?"_

 _While the woman's attention was on Mika and Orga, the little boy realized what was going to happen in just a few moments. The fear of failure forced him to take drastic action as he quickly rushed over to a nearby trashcan and pulled out a rusted kitchen knife. His mission was simple; act like bait and allow the rest of the crew to steal anything of value from them. It was a simple and effective method of being able to rob people._

 _The boy backed himself against the crumbling brick wall, holding the knife in a defensive stance. Orga and Mika knew the boy wasn't going down without a fight, but they weren't too scared about the little boy. It was the people backing him up that made them wary of him. Caught off-guard by the sudden action of the young boy, Mika didn't hesitate to take out the handgun and aim it at the boy._

 _"Put it down," warned Orga, who wasn't exactly looking for another fight after the last one they got themselves into._

 _Watching all this happen in front of her, Shuri was completely shocked at the sight of seeing children, who looked mo older than her daughter, ready to kill each other. She wanted to stop this incident from getting any worse until she saw something out of the corner of her eye._

 _A group of men, all of them looking in their twenties, came out from the dark crevices of the alleyway. They started approaching the scene going on, which didn't go unnoticed by Orga and Mika._

 _Seeing how badly they were outnumbered, Orga turned his head around and saw an apprehensive look on the woman's face. Some people would question why Orga was even bothering to help someone considering the dog-eat-dog world they reside on._

 _Orga's anger only seems to skyrocket when he heard the comments those men made about the woman._

 _"Hey, look what we got ourselves here, boys?"_

 _"Damn, the little shit reeled in a fine ass bitch this time."_

 _"We gonna have some real fun tonight, aren't we?"_

 _"Hell, we even managed to get a pair of dumbass kids to make our lives even easier."_

 _If there was one thing Orga hated more than anything in the world; it was being underestimated just because he was a child in the eyes of a few criminals like these ones. Originally, he planned on splitting up and losing these men along the way, but their comments were enough to piss Orga off._

 _"Mika."_

 _Hearing the tone of his voice was enough for Mikazuki to pull the gun from his pocket. When he aimed the weapon at the men, all of them looked a bit nervous but continued walking towards them until Mika decided that was enough._

 _ **BANG!**_

 _Just as he squeezed the trigger, a 9mm round flew from the barrel and pierced the skull of one of the criminals. Blood started pouring from the wound as those standing behind him were also covered in brain matter and the crimson fluid. Seeing one of their own being killed by Mika made them stop soon afterward. It wasn't long until the presumed leader of the group tried to settle this matter without another one of his guys getting shot._

 _He gestured his hands in a calming manner, "L-Look kid, can we, uh, t-talk about this. No one else needs to get hurt."_

 _Mika pulled the hammer of the pistol back, letting the man know how serious this situation had become._

 _"Alright," Orga said, knowing how pointless it is to continue this little stand off between the two sides. As he walked over to the leader, the young boy wanted to make sure these people never forgot who was it that spared their pathetic lives. Reaching into the man's pocket, Orga felt the familiar velvety texture of something he and Mika were going to need for the time being._

 _Pulling out the cash hidden inside his coat, Orga quickly counted and saw there was enough to feed both of them for quite a while. Stepping away from the leader, Orga looked at the leader with a dark gleam in his eye._

 _"Talk about this?" Orga repeated, making the others flinch at the harsh tone he spoke with. Most people would laugh at these criminals for being scared of children, but they'd tell people otherwise._

 _Something wasn't normal about these kids..._

 _"Y-Y-Yeah!" the man said, trying his hardest not to do anything stupid with the gun aimed at him. "We c-could use ki-I mean people like yourselves."_

 _For a moment, there was silence in the alleyway as the only sound that could be heard was the occasional car horn being blown. In the leader's mind, he believed these kids were truly thinking about his offer._

 _However, Orga turned his head around and looked at the woman, seemingly paralyzed in place from what she was watching play out. He could see the fear in her eyes, especially when her violet eyes met his golden ones. There was almost a sense of dread at what he was going to decide._

 _Fortunately, he already made his choice the moment when these men thought they could take advantage of them with just a few sweet words. Orga decided to mock these men before their demise, "A very tempting offer..." the criminals seem to let out a sigh of relief, "...Unfortunately, I have a rule saying that joining scum like you, isn't in our best interests. Mika, if you would be so kind as to show them to their grave."_

 _ **BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!**_

 _Shuri covered her ears just as Mika started firing off the 9mm pistol in his hand. How could any of this happen? All she wanted to do today was enjoy a day to herself before heading back to Earth with the intention of spending as much time as she could with her daughter and husband. Now, she witnessed two boys no older than her daughter kill an entire group of men, even if they were criminals, killing them wasn't entirely needed._

 _When Mika was finished killing the - now dead - criminals, he put the pistol away. Once he was done with his task, he looked at his friend, "What do you want me to do next, Orga?"_

 _Hearing his friend's question, the boy was about to answer him until he felt the familiar sensation of pain rushing up his arm. A sharp groan left his mouth, making Shuri wonder what was wrong with him. Although, it didn't take long when she caught sight of the blood dripping off his left arm. Her motherly instincts drove her to walk over to the boy and see what happened to him. When Shuri kneeled down and tried to examine his arm until she felt a cold barrel pressed against the back of her head. For a split second, the woman feared that her life was about to come to an end if she even tried moving a muscle._

 _"What are you doing?"_

 _The shorter boy's question seemed more like a demand than anything else. If it were anyone else, Shuri would've tried to protect herself but after witnessing this same boy murder six men and a little boy in cold blood, she felt fear coursing through her veins._

 _Orga deadpanned, "Mika, you can relax. I don't think she's gonna do anything to me."_

 _The shorter boy merely nodded and moved the barrel away from the back of her head. Without even knowing, Shuri let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding in._

 _After getting his friend to calm down, Orga gazed at the woman with a cautious look in his eyes, "And what do you think you're doing?" he asked her, look for any signs of deceit in the woman's response._

 _"Silly," she said, hoping to get the little boy to let his guard down a little bit, "You're bleeding and both of you look exhausted right now."_

 _Silence followed as the woman waited for the taller boy's response until he moved away from her and sat with his back to the crumbling brick wall. Not too far away from Orga was the corpse of the little boy who was killed alongside the criminals. He didn't seem to pay attention to the body and leaned his head against the wall._

 _"We're not expecting gratitude or anything, lady," Orga said, who wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and sleep._

 _Shuri let out a giggle at the boy's response, causing him to look at her with an odd expression on her face. Then, she quietly kneeled beside him and unwrapped the cloth soaked in his blood._

 _"What happened here?" Shuri asked, concerned about the possibility of an infection given the nature of the wound._

 _Orga shrugged his shoulders, "Some asshole tried to kill me and Mika."_

 _Shuri raised an eyebrow, "What happened to him?"_

 _"He's dead."_

 _"D-Dead?"_

 _Orga snorted, "I don't even know why you're still here, lady."_

 _The woman gave a rueful smile, "I can't just ignore a pair of boys who look like they should be home by now, even if they may not have one."_

 _Most people hardly gave orphans like Orga and Mika more than a second glance, but this woman had actually seemed to care, which already made them a bit wary of what her true intentions were with them._

 _"Why?" Orga whispered, wanting to hear her reason for even giving a damn to talk to kids who just murdered seven people, including a child younger than themselves._

 _Shuri ripped a piece of her sleeve and wrapped it around Orga's arm. The woman smiled, "Wouldn't you two like to know?"_

 _Orga and Mika looked at each other, wondering if they should trust this woman, especially considering how late it was getting._

 _'Eh, what choice do we really have?' the two boys thought to themselves when they looked at each other. Orga then turned his gaze back onto the woman and nodded to her, "Sure."_

 _"Splendid!"_

 **X-X-X**

 **CHRYSE GUARD SECURITY (CGS) FACILITY**

 **PRESENT DAY, A FEW MINUTES EARLIER**

Orga felt nothing short of exhaustion as he took responsibility for watching over the recovery/scavenging operation after the battle with Gjallarhorn concluded a few hours ago.

He rubbed his eyes, trying his best to stay awake after doing his best to coordinate their forces in hope of limiting their losses. Unfortunately, as he saw another Mobile Worker drive past him, the young leader of Third Corp felt guilty as yet more of their comrades were killed in battle. It was something he was going to have to live with for the rest of his life.

As he was lost in his thoughts about the weight of his responsibilities, the young man completely ignored the person calling out to him, "Uh, Orga?"

The person asking him was none other than Rias Gremory, who looked beyond terrified at the sight of so much death and destruction spread across the land. While scanning the scene, her teal eyes landed on the silhouette of the golden horned Mobile Suit kneeling in the distance. She recalled a young man by the name of Mikazuki Augus being the one to pilot it.

Once the battle concluded, Rias wanted nothing more than to head out into the field and find Issei. She felt a surge of emotions ranging from joy, love, and even anger for causing such distress for her.

As these thoughts were racing through Rias's mind, the dark-haired beauty known as Akeno Himejima was trying her best to hold back from giggling at the adorable expression on her best friend's face.

Deciding to help her friend out, Akeno walked up to the leader of Third Corp and wrapped her arms around his, effectively pressing her generous assets against his arm. She started giggling the moment when Orga turned his head in her direction, letting her see how hard he was blushing at the contact.

"W-What are you doing?!" Orga whispered, wanting to keep any attention away from himself. At first, Akeno didn't respond to his question and only pressed herself even harder against him. The young woman then raised her head up since Orga was a few inches taller than her. Her violet eyes locked onto Orga's golden colored eyes, making the young man blush even more than before.

Akeno enjoyed Orga's reaction and wanted to see how far she could go, "My, my, for being the tough leader of Third Corp, you seem to have such a cute face, Mr. Itsuka."

Without even realizing it, Akeno had almost forgotten her reasoning for why she had even done this until someone behind them cleared their throat.

The dark haired beauty saw the annoyed look on Rias's face and gave her an apologetic smile, "Sorry, Rias, I couldn't help myself," she said before tightening her grip around Orga's arm. "He's just so adorable. I couldn't help it, Rias."

A part of Orga felt embarrassed at the chance of being seen in such a position, yet another side to him was happy to have a beautiful woman like Akeno hanging off his arm. This was quite confusing to him, especially knowing how little time he had given his responsibility as the leader of Third Corp.

"Could you, uh, let go of my arm?" Orga inquired, seeing as how Rias seem to be annoyed with what her friend was doing to him.

Akeno pouted, "What? Don't you like this?" she asked while pressing her assets against his arm. Inside Orga's mind, he was trying his best to keep his composure through this entire situation and thankfully, the young man was saved when Rias walked over and grabbed Akeno by the ear, something only seen when a parent is reprimanding their child.

Witnessing such a sight had to be the strangest thing for Orga. Sure, he's seen parents punish their kids or do what Rias had just done, but to see two people around the same age doing this to the other. He rubbed the back of his, a little annoyed as they still haven't asked him or whatever it is they need from him.

"You know," he said out loud, catching the attention of the two young women standing a few feet away. "I don't exactly have too much spare time on my hands."

Seeing the annoyed expression on his face, Rias quickly apologized, "I'm terribly sorry, it wasn't my intention to waste your time, Mr. Itsuka."

Orga cringed when she called him by his last name, "Please, Ms. Gremory, just call me Orga. I'm not that kind of guy who goes by his last name."

The redhead tilted her head in confusion, "Really?"

Orga nodded, "Yeah," he said to the beautiful redhead before going back to his original question. "So what did you need from me?"

"Oh, that's right," Rias said while looking out towards the scarred battlefield where numerous people were just killed over them. "Do you know where Issei is?"

It didn't take Orga long to figure out Rias was concerned for Issei. He smirked as he pointed towards a Mobile Worker wreckage in the distance. Even from here, he could see Issei and Kiba trying to pry it open.

"Well, your boyfriend is opening up some of the wrecks, especially since he is one of our top mechanics here," Orga revealed, noticing how relieved Rias appeared to be when he told her that piece of information.

Except, her cheeks became flushed in embarrassment when he referred to Issei in such a manner. Orga couldn't help but take the opportunity to tease the girl. The same could be said for Akeno as she used her hand to stop herself from giggling at her best friend's reaction.

"Thank you," Rias muttered, not exactly in the mood to be teased after having to sit through a battle where Issei could have died. She knew thinking something of that nature wasn't going to help her in any kind of way.

Just Rias walked past him, Orga couldn't help but shake his head when realizing how involved those two were with each other. Though, the young leader of Third Corp was happy to see someone from the outside come to care about one of their own.

"You know, Issei is the first man Rias has come to care about who wasn't a part of her family," Akeno revealed, making Orga raise an eyebrow at her words.

"Considering how Gjallarhorn was willing to use these Mobile Suits to kill us, I don't doubt her family's lineage, Ms. Himejima," Orga replied, watching as Rias didn't hesitate to kiss Issei, causing Orga to shake his head in amusement of the sight.

He turned to face Akeno, "But, I am happy to see someone come to care about one of our own. God only knows what would've happened if Mika didn't win against their Mobile Suits."

Leaving those words to hang in there, allowed for Akeno to understand the weight of the situation the three of them had gotten into. The actions of Kudelia were enough as it is but if Gjallarhorn found out the only daughter of the Gremory family was here alongside the daughter of the strongest Mobile Suit pilot in the Grigori...

Akeno came to a horrifying conclusion, ' _I can only imagine how much they would be willing to sacrifice just to kill us._ '

Before either of them could say anything more, another voice entered the conversation.

"Orga."

The leader of Third Corp turned around and saw the familiar form of one of their better Mobile Worker pilots and one of their toughest guys; Akihiro Altland.

Like everyone else, he wore a pair of dark green pants with a white shirt underneath as well as the classic green jacket which was worn by everyone in the CGS. However, the defining trait was the single red line traveling down the right side of his coat.

As Orga looked at Akihiro, the brute of a young man spoke up, "The survivors of First Corp have returned."

When he heard those words, Orga let out a sigh of exasperation as he knew he was going to have to deal with this eventually. First Corp isn't exactly going to be pleased to know Orga planned on using them as bait from the very beginning of the battle. Something he hoped they didn't find out, especially since they might punish all of Third Corp for his actions.

"I'll be right there," Orga finally replied, getting a simple nod from Akihiro, who soon went off to assist with the recovery.

With that new bit of information, Orga started heading back to the facility until he felt someone tap him on his shoulder. Turning back, he saw Akeno smiling at him.

"I find you very interesting, Mr. Itsuka," the black haired beauty started, making Orga wonder what she meant by those words.

However, he had bigger problems to deal with than the words of a woman he just met a few hours ago.

'Let's hope things don't get any worse than they're already going to get with First Corp,' Orga couldn't help but scowl at having to deal with the moronic leadership of First Corp. Although, life has a funny way of making things happen, but not in the ways one would usually expect.

* * *

 ** _Mobile Suit Gundam: Tekkadan's Iron-Blooded Dragon_**

* * *

 **CHRYSE GUARD SECURITY (CGS) FACILITY**

 **A FEW MINUTES LATER**

' ** _After the long Calamity War, Mars was divided and governed by the four economic blocks. But as a result, poverty spread across Mars. The majority of these victims turned out to be children. And even now, many children are dying. They are just innocent children. But they are..._** '

Ever since the Naochis July Assembly, Kudelia wanted nothing more than to help the people, especially children, of Mars. They suffered from the policies and treatment by the four economic blocks that ruled over Earth. The whole reason for her trip to Earth was to speak with the Prime Minister of one of the four economic blocks to help alleviate Mars of the burden which was placed onto them.

Unfortunately, her secret trip to Earth wasn't a secret anymore as Gjallarhorn manage to find out.

As a result, this caused the deaths of many within Third Corp.

Kudelia would never forget the terrifying sight of body bags for as long as she lives. It was made even worse when she saw the solemn expressions on many of the survivors. Most would celebrate a victory against Gjallarhorn, but many of them looked sick to their stomachs.

' _They are..._ ' she thought, realizing that this entire attack was because of her. ' _Because of..._ '

She couldn't finish her thoughts without coming to the same conclusion. Gjallarhorn attacked the CGS facility because they caught wind of her location and wanted to kill/capture her. It was the most logical answer in this situation, but she didn't expect so many to die.

Kudelia threw her face into her hands, trying to come to terms with what just happened.

"Miss?"

Out of the blue, the young woman heard the familiar voice of her personal guardian. "Fumitan, where were you?" Kudelia asked, who was worried when she couldn't find Fumitan during the battle between Third Corp and Gjallarhorn, "I was worried about you."

She quickly rushed over to her until Kudelia saw Fumitan holding her left arm. The blonde was able to see a bit of blood leaking through Fumitan's hand.

The older woman noticed her expression, "Do not worry. It is just a scratch, nothing more."

"But rather than that, I'm so sorry," apologized Fumitan. "I was ordered to contact Mr. Norman first in an emergency."

Hearing this, Kudelia spoke up, "What did father say?"

"He is very worried. He wants you to come back home right away."

"I cannot do that yet," said Kudelia. "This trip to Earth was supposed to be done in secrecy. But there is no doubt the target of Gjallarhorn's attack was me. And my father, who is usually against my actions... was supportive this time. I do not want to think that..."

Fumitan called out to Kudelia, "Miss."

"I understand," the young woman said, "But I cannot return to my father unless I confirm that."

The older woman sighed, "I understand. However, there is no point in staying here."

Part of her didn't like the idea suggested by Fumitan and seemed almost hesitant to leave these boys, especially after being the source of the battle between the two sides, "That is..."

"Kudelia?"

The young woman looked up and saw Kiba walking into the room, a concerned expression could be seen on his face. Biting her lip, Kudelia looked away in shame as she remembered that the only reason why Gjallarhorn attacked, was because of her. Now, dozens of people were killed in meaningless fighting over someone as pathetic and useless as herself.

She stared at the ground, hoping he would leave her alone. A few moments later, her violet eyes caught sight of a pair of black combat boots. Kudelia shut her eyes as the familiar stinging sensation of tears built up but was caught off-guard as the person kneeled in front of her and placed their hands on her shoulder.

"Miss Bernstein?" the person called out to her in a gentle tone, "Could you please look up?"

Hearing the gentleness behind his voice, Kudelia started rubbing the tears out of her eyes and tried to not look like a mess. Although, it proved to be useless as everything seems to slam into her all at once.

The thought of dying young, being the cause of so many deaths and becoming nothing more than a hindrance to people like her parents, Third Corp, and people in general.

As she slowly raised her head up, Kudelia expected Kiba to have a scowl on his face or upset with her, but it didn't appear to be the case. A smile was present on his face, which seems to cause her heart to start beating against her rib-cage as if it was going to explode.

Kiba shook her a little bit, "You okay?"

Realizing he was speaking to her, Kudelia broke out of her stupor and nodded, "Y-Yes, I am."

"Are you truly okay?"

At that moment, Kudelia heard what Kiba was actually asking her about. Kudelia's throat went dry, making it difficult for her to respond to the young man kneeling in front of her. Part of her felt embarrased being around Kiba, who is quite handsome for a soldier at his age, and another part of her was nervous at having to mention all the fears and guilt building up inside her.

Yet, the blonde felt like she could trust Kiba with her feelings about this entire situation.

Taking a deep breath, Kudelia tried to find the proper words to explain how she felt, however, none came to mind. It felt like trying to find a needle in a haystack, especially considering she didn't want to offend Kiba or his comrades for their effort of trying to protect the base. Something the young woman felt was a result of her presence.

As Kudelia was lost in her thoughts, Kiba had an idea as to what was affecting her right now. "You think Gjallarhorn attacking the base, was your fault, don't you?"

It was all he needed to see as Kudelia's eyes went wide for a few seconds until she decided to look away. Kiba wondered why the girl was blaming herself so much. He wanted her to understand the reality of this situation and to learn something from all this. He took a deep breath before his from her shoulder and placed it, as gently as he could, onto her cheek, making the girl face him.

His blue eyes were a mixture of kindness and warmth, yet a hint of sterness in them.

"You need to understanding something; no person is worth the lives lost today. Just because _you and your friends_ came to our base and wanted to head to Earth, doesn't make you or the others responsible for the deaths of my comrades," explained Kiba, hoping his message would get through to her. "By blaming yourself, you are essentially spitting on the deaths of those who fought against Gjallarhorn."

Kudelia tried to find a retort, but nothing came to mind.

"I'm not trying to be the bad guy," Kiba said as he saw the expression on her face. "Do you remember what I told you last night?" he asked.

Thinking back on the previous night, the young woman recalled the brief conversation she had with Kiba about his beliefs and how it's affected his way of thinking. She nodded, "Yes, I do."

He smiled at her, "Then realize that this is a situation you're supposed to learn from and move forward."

"H-How can you be so calm?" she whispered, wondering how he was able to cheer her up like this. "...especially given the outcome of the battle between Third Corp and Gjallarhorn."

Kiba shrugged his shoulders and tried his best to smile, knowing the difficulty of answering a question of this nature. Thoughts had run rampant in his mind as he moved to sit down next to Kudelia on the seat. As he stared at the ground, he could hear the familiar voices of...them.

' _ **K-Kiba! Run!**_ '

' _ **Don't look back!**_ '

' _ **It's okay, Kiba.**_ '

Soon, his memories of that night returned in full force, making him remember the reasoning why he's still alive. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder and came back to the reality of where he was right now. Quickly, he wiped away the tears that streaked across his face.

"I'm sorry."

Those words made Kiba look at Kudelia with a confused look on his face. "What?"

Kudelia felt ashamed of herself, forcing Kiba to have to possibly remember something he didn't want to, "...For making you re-live such terrible memories."

Shaking his head, Kiba couldn't help but smile at the expression on her face. He raised his hand up and flicked her in the forehead, making the girl yelp from the stinging sensation. As Kudelia rubbed at the spot he hit, she saw the mischevious smile on his face, coming to the conclusion of him messing around with her.

"W-What was that for?" she asked, still reeling back from the sudden hit.

He shook his head, "For you being an idiot."

"H-Huh? H-How was I being an i-idiot?"

Kiba let out a sigh, "You're not responsible for what happened to me or anyone of us. We all choose our own path in life and worrying about someone else's path isn't something you should be doing. Focus on what path you want to explore and see how far it takes you."

He then proceeded to get up from the seat and walk towards the door. Before he walked out, Kiba glanced at Kudelia, "If you want..." he paused as if he was thinking about something, "...you can head down to the kitchen with me. Me and a few others are gonna cook something up to eat tonight. I doubt any of us are in the mood for cold rations."

Not even bothering to think, the young woman merely nodded from where she was sitting.

"Then, come on."

With those words, Kudelia got up and headed over to Kiba.

 **X-X-X**

 **AROUND THE SAME TIME**

After unloading the supplies from the truck, all Atra wanted was to see Mikazuki and give him the charm braclet that she made for him. When she asked Biscuit about him, he told her that Mikazuki was the one who piloted the horned Mobile Suit that helped drive off Gjallarhorn. However, Atra couldn't help but worry when Biscuit told her that they haven't seen him in the last few hours or so.

Fortunately, she was informed about how Mr. Yukinojo had gone to wake Mikazuki up and get him out of the Mobile Suit.

Deciding it was best to wait, she was currently leaning against the truck parked outside the perimeter of the CGS facility. In her hand was the very braclet that she's been wanting to give to Mikazuki for the last few days. With the news about them heading to Earth for the next few months, Atra knew that she wouldn't see him for some time.

' _I wish... I could tell him_ ,' Atra thought, wondering if she would ever find the courage to act on her feelings for the young man.

For her, it felt even more difficult considering that she's known Mikazuki since they were kids. It made her fear that Mikazuki didn't see her in the same light that she viewed him in. Although, she feared that nothing would happen if she didn't say anything.

Atra was in a position where things could go either way.

Either she'll find out that Mikazuki has feelings for her, but never acted on those feelings. Given how Mikazuki tends to act about most things in his life, Atra could certainly see him keeping such emotions in the back of his mind. On the other hand, there's the chance that Mikazuki would reject her feelings, telling her that he doesn't feel that way about her.

' _It's bad either way_ ,' Atra thought, feeling a bit meloncholy about this situation.

"What? Atra?"

Suddenly, her thoughts were put on hold when she heard Mikazuki's voice say her name. Atra was about to respond when she saw the condition that Mikazuki came back in. All he wore was his pants and his CGS jacket, nothing else. But she was concerned when seeing the massive amount of dried up blood on his face.

Her voice appeared to die in her throat for a few moments.

"Making a delivery, huh," he seemed to mutter.

The girl found her voice again when she heard him speak, "Yes. Hey, Mikazuki?"

Mikazuki didn't seem to stop walking, looking to be in some kind of rush, "What?"

"Well...are you alright?" she asked, her concern for the young man was noticed when Mikazuki stopped for a moment. The young man looked at the girl, his own thoughts running at a hundred miles an hour right now. There was far too much to do and not enough time to get it done.

He nodded, "Yeah. Thanks, Atra. I'm in a hurry so I'll see you later."

Atra tried her best to seem cheerful but felt like she was failing quite badly. For as much as she wanted to give him the braclet, the girl realized that Mikazuki wasn't alright. Some might not notice it, but after spending years of learning to read people like him, Atra knew that he was in some kind of pain.

She justed wanted to help him in any way possible.

Looking down at the bracelet, Atra realized that she was going to have to wait a little longer...

* * *

 _ **Mobile Suit Gundam: Tekkadan's Iron-Blooded Dragon**_

* * *

 **CHRYSE GUARD SECURITY (CGS) FACILITY**

 **A FEW MINUTES LATER**

' _ **You're okay...nothing's going to happen to you.**_ '

' _ **Why would you someone like me?**_ '

' _ **Don't know, but I do know you shouldn't go through this alone.**_ '

' _ **W-Who are you?**_ '

' _ **The name's Issei Hyoudou...**_ '

Life can be nothing short of an insuffrable bitch who has no regard for the consequences of any decision. Hell, Issei never expected much out of his life and thought he was going to be found dead inside a sewer or found shot up in an alleyway. Except, the idea of fighting against the greatest military power in the solar system and then receiving a kiss from a beautiful redhead like Rias, was not on his list before death.

Although, it was one thing to dream about being with a beautiful woman like Rias, but to actually watch two beautiful women fight over him, it wasn't what he hoped it would be. Now, the young man was actually cursing his luck for not dying inside one of the Mobile Workers during the battle with Gjallarhorn.

When the girl he's been in love with since the age of thirteen years old and a girl who's become one of his closest friends, finally meet each other. So, when Issei felt someone move him and Rias apart from each other after she kissed him, the young man was quite shocked to see it was Asia who had broken them up.

Issei immediately turned white as bed sheets as he saw the rather adorable but angry expression on her face. In the years since meeting Asia, Issei was quick to learn that whenever his friend had that kind of look on her face, it was best to calm her down as quickly as possible. Or else, things were only going to get that much worse.

Add in the environment, the young man grabbed both girls' hands and took them up to the CGS facility with the intentions of resolving this mess. There was a part of him, who wanted to know why Asia was so upset with him. It's not like he actually kept his previous friendship with Rias a secret from her or Kiba. He even mentioned his feelings for the redhead to Asia.

So, why did she look so angry?

Just as they entered the facility, Issei decided the best place would be the hangar as there was currently no one there. Most of the older members of Third Corp were out in the field while all the others were dealing with repairs outside. Yet, a part of him was getting nervous when he heard the two girls remain quiet throughout the walk to the hangar.

Just as the door slid open, Issei let go of their hands and felt his shoulders sag as he realized something bad was probably going to happen to him.

"So, uh, what are you doing here, Asia?" Issei questioned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

The blonde took a quick glance over at Rias before looking back at Issei, "Well, when Mika told me and Atra about the trip to Earth, I wanted to see you one last time before you and the others left. B-B-But, he never said Rias was one of the people being escorted to Earth. So e-explain that!"

Realizing that he was in for a long night, Issei took a seat on one of the metal stools and sighed, "That's because I didn't know Rias was one of the people being taken to Earth either. Mika forgot to tell me about the trip and the people going on it. So I was pretty much in the dark and throw in all the last minute work Orga and the others dumped on me, I didn't have time to check."

"You didn't know about the escort mission?" Rias spoke up, quite surprised to hear one of Third Corp's top mechanics didn't know about any of this.

Issei shook his head, "Not a damn word," he said before looking at the redhead. "If I had known, I wouldn't have been so caught off-guard when I finally saw you again, Rias."

The redhead couldn't help but blush a bit when she saw him smile at her. Given his exhausted state, it looked forced but the feeling behind it was mutual nonetheless. Returning the smile, neither of them noticed the displeased look on Asia's face as she began to panick, realizing how behind she already was compared to Rias.

"Issei, can I ask you something?"

Catching his attention, the young man turned away from Rias and wondered what Asia wanted, "Yeah, you can ask me anything."

Asia started tapping her index fingers together, looking rather nervous. "I was wondering...are you okay?"

Tilting his head in a confused manner, Issei wondered what Asia meant, "What do you mean?"

"You w-were involved in that dangerous battle with Gjallarhorn," Asia started explaining, hoping he would catch onto her concern. "And I remember how some of the others looked really sad and angry about what happened. I just wanted to know how you were feeling after all of this."

Leaning back, Issei looked around and saw the wrecks of Mobile Workers, remembering the screams of those who died during the battle. Some were probably killed as the machines exploded while others must have been crushed when the Mobile Suits attacked them. From what he also remembers is a good portion of the guys who were patroling that night, ended up getting killed.

' _Matsuda and Motohama are dead too_ ,' Issei sadly thought, remembering some guys he used to hang out with.

Without realizing it, Issei had actually been silent for about a few minutes, earning the girls' concern. For Rias, she didn't see much of the fight except for the initial rocket barage which struck the base. Beyond on that, she was stuck inside the facility with Akeno and Kudelia, trying to keep the latter from having a panick attack at the very thought of dying. Some would ask if she was terrified during the battle, and Rias would admit to being scared.

However, her concern for Issei far outweighed the thought of her own death earlier. Even Akeno's safety took precedence over own.

If there was one thing Rias valued more than anything; it was the lives of those she cared about dearly. The mere thought of losing her friends or Issei would be far worse than the thoughts of dying during this fight with Gjallarhorn. Some would call her an idiot for thinking like this, but Rias refused to give up on her friends.

Meanwhile, Asia stared at Issei with an ever growing concern for her closest friend. For nearly three years, he had constantly went into town to see how she was doing. However, these last few months, those visits started to become less and less frequent. Issei had been there ever since the day Griselda was killed and the young man had always stood by her side, even with ever increasing responsibility of being part of the older members of Third Corp.

The thought of losing Issei was beyond painful for Asia. Hence the reason why she prayed every single night, hoping Issei would survive to see her again.

Both girls had seen the poor treatment of orphans across Mars and when seeing what child soldiers like Issei experience, where they constantly dance with death on a daily basis. Just being able to see him alive and well, was more than enough for either of them. So when Rias and Asia looked at each other, the two realized how close Issei was to dying as most knew a battle with Gjallarhorn was certain suicide.

' _I just wonder what were going to do next_ ,' Rias thought, remembering the trip to Earth. This battle had essentially put a damper on those plans. Ultimately, Kudelia had the final say about what they were going to do next. Whatever her friend chooses, Rias knew she and Akeno would follow close behind.

 **X-X-X**

 **AROUND THE SAME TIME**

Letting out a sigh of disappointment, Akeno wanted to continue teasing the man known as Orga Itsuka, leader of Third Corp. Much like Rias, Akeno hardly cared for men as she viewed them as nothing more than individuals who only find appeal in a woman's appearance than anything else. This was the reason why she's refused to take any wedding proposals over the last year or so.

' _Then, there's him..._ ' Akeno thought, trying to find out what was so intriguing about the young man.

Outside of young recruits, the dark-haired beauty never truly spoke with boys her own age. She doubts it would be any different than speaking with the men who work for the Grigori, especially since some of them happen to be young men from wealthy families from across the Earth. Much to her dismay, those same young men were also looking for a future wife, something Akeno despised as she wanted to true love.

Some might call her foolish for thinking like this, but the young woman refused to move from her stance. It was only strengthened when Akeno found out about Rias and her situation back on Earth.

While thinking about her best friend, Akeno noticed a group of boys, all of them much younger compared to her and Orga, heading inside the facility. A few of them had looks of worry and trepidation on some of their faces. As her curiosity got the better of her, Akeno decided to see what was happening with them. So, she remained a few steps behind them, hoping to find out where they were going right now.

After traveling through the hallways for about a minute or so, making a few turns here and there, Akeno watched from down the hallway as she saw the boys huddled against the corner.

Wondering what was going on, the raven-haired girl came up from behind them and called out to them, "My, my, what do you think you boys are doing?" she asked in a teasing manner, causing them to freeze up. One of them, who looked like the oldest in the group, slowly turned around and looked at Akeno.

"Uh..." he was about to answer until he was elbowed in the side by one of the other kids. The boy who was elbowed turned his head around and shot an annoyed look at his fellow comrade, "Ride! What was that for?"

The boy named Ride glared at the older boy, "Takaki, don't you even say a word to her," he said to his friend.

Akeno felt a bit intrigued when she heard the boy named Ride say that to Takaki. Suddenly, one of the kids near the edge of the hallway turned towards the rest and told them to be quiet. Soon, the others tried to get as close as possibile to the edge without being seen. Knowing she wasn't going anywhere with the older kids, Akeno kneeled down and asked one of the younger boys, "Sweetie, you mind telling me what's going on?"

The young boy, who looked no older than ten, seemed hesistant until a voice cut him off.

"You fool!" a man yelled in anger, catching the attention of everyone. Soon, they heard the sound of someone getting smacked right afterward. "You made a fool out of us. You used u-"

Much to her surprise, she heard Orga's voice cut-off the man, "While First Corp went for the pincer attack, I heard you were attacked in an unfortunate accident."

His response seemed genuine, but this made Akeno wonder what was going on. Facing the younger boys, Akeno called out to the boy named Takaki, "Why is Orga in there?" she asked him, hoping to get an answer of some kind.

Takaki seemed hesitant to give an answer until they heard Orga continuing to speak, "Why is that our problem?"

Akeno knew children were abused on Mars, especially child soldiers. To actually hear it, that was an entirely different story as Akeno heard Orga groan out in pain as the kids even seem to shudder as if they were hit by the man himself. It was quickly followed by the thud of someone falling to the ground. The young woman knew most would try and stop what was going on, but part of her refused to get involved.

There was a chance that things could become worse if she or any of the others tried to stop the man. Realizing how powerless she truly was in this position, Akeno and the younger members of Third Corp were subjected to hearing Orga getting the living shit beaten out of him.

She could see it was becoming painful for some of the boys. The younger ones were covering their ears while the others had a look of anger on their faces. Before long, the beating stopped as the man seem to almost relish at sight of a beaten Orga, "How boring. Calculate the damage for this recent battle and bring it to me," he said before him and the others of First Corp left the room.

Once they left the room, Akeno saw many of the boys were upset and looked ready to fly off the handle. Was this normal for them? Were they always exposed to this kind of treatment?

Akeno heard those who remained in the room speaking what scum those men were until she managed to hear Orga's words, "You're right... we can't forgive them. Maybe it's perfect."

There were a few thoughts in her head, but one stood out compared to the rest, ' _Looks like Third Corp is taking actions into their own hands._ '

 **X-X-X**

 **CHRYSE SECURITY GUARD (CGS) FACILITY**

 **FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER**

With the sun setting behind the horizon, Orga sighed for what seemed like the millionth time. After asking a few people, he found out that Mika was currently refueling the Mobile Suit. The young leader of Third Corp was heading to the Mobile Suit with the intentions of convincing Mika of this plan to takeover CGS.

He knew if he was serious enough, then Mika would agree without hesitating. Although, Orga wasn't exactly happy it took him this long to find Mika and placed a lot of the blame on Akeno. The girl certainly took her time with patching up his injuries after getting the beating of a lifetime from the commander of First Corp. It still baffles him as to why someone like Akeno went out of her way to help him out. Hell, he thought after his explanation of First Corp and what he planned on doing to them, would scare not only her but Rias as well, but apparently, he was wrong about them.

To even receive their support should Kudelia continue her trip to Earth with the intentions of having Third Corp continue being their escorts to the birthplace of humanity. Above of all else, it was the fact that those outside their unit, actually supported them.

' _God, I can't keep up with all these changes happening, especially with the amount of women around here,_ ' Orga thought, seeing how Rias and Asia looked at Issei already told him how much trouble was coming for that boy.

Although when he wasn't being the leader of Third Corp, Orga hardly spoke to women and with Akeno being the most beautiful woman he's ever met and his the little experience he did have clearly showed itself during their brief conversation in the infirmary. To be honest, Akeno was the first girl he had ever spoken to in years since the woman named Shuri. Throw in how remarkably similar she resembled Shuri and that culminated into an awkward young man.

Orga stopped for a moment and an incredulous looked could be seen on his face, ' _Why I am even thinking about her right now?_ '

There were far more pressing matters than his thoughts on a girl like Akeno, especially considering the future of Third Corp was on the line.

After what seemed like ten minutes, Orga could finally see the Mobile Suit in greater detail than before. He remembered hearing from the old man that the name for this Mobile Suit was Barbatos, and is apparently a relic from the Calamity War, which took place over three hundred years ago.

' _Which happens to be piloted by Mika_ ,' Orga shook his head at the thought of his friend piloting such a famous machine.

Down on the ground, Mika could be seen attaching cables from a nearby Mobile Worker configured to carry around fuel. Once Mika hooked the two fuel lines together, Orga called out to his oldest friend, "Mika!"

Hearing his name, the shorter teen took a moment to turn his head and face Orga, "What?"

Unfortunately, Mika couldn't help but smile at the sight of his friend, "Look who got handsome," he pointed out, seeing the bruises and cuts all over Orga's face. Mika heard about the beating that Orga received from the commander of First Corp. The young man was almost tempted to kill the man but waited to see what Orga wanted to do about it.

His friend took no offense to his jab and found it a bit funny himself, "I guess so."

Soon, Orga went silent as he started mulling over another question to ask Mika. He raised his head and asked Mika something he's been thinking about ever since the battle with Gjallarhorn ended this morning, "Don't you want to say good-bye to our comrades that died?"

"No, it's alright," Mika replied before looking back at Orga. "You said it a long time ago; ' _You can see the dead when you're dead. So to keep the living alive, do everything you can._ '"

Upon hearing those words, Orga remembered the day when he and Mika met for the first time ever. It hasn't felt like twelve years have passed since their meeting. Orga looked up at the Mobile Suit with a smile on his face, "Maybe I did say something like that," he muttered to himself.

Taking a deep breath, Orga asked the question that's been on his mind since the meeting with the others, "Hey, Mika. I want you to do something," asked Orga, who reached into his pocket and took out a handgun, the same one Mika used to kill a man on that day. The day where they made a promise to do everything possible to find the place where they truly belong.

They understood that they were in this until the end...

"It's something only yo-" and before Orga could finish speaking, Mika took the gun out of his hand and pulled the receiver back, letting them know it was armed. The leader of Third Corp looked down at his friend, "You accept it without hearing it?"

Mika spoke up, "I'll listen to you now," he said while looking at Orga with a smile present on his face, "But if it is something you decided, I'll do it."

Even after being friends for years, Orga knew he wouldn't truly ever understand Mika and the things he does sometimes. However, Orga knew Mika would follow him into the depths of Hell as long as he gave the shorter teen a reason to follow. Sometimes, Orga was glad to have Mika as he knows the guy would have his back until the very end.

"Listen to you," Orga quietly muttered to himself.

"Huh?"

Orga shook his head, "No, it's nothing. Thank you."

* * *

 _ **Mobile Suit Gundam: Tekkadan's Iron-Blooded Dragon**_

* * *

 **GJALLARHORN FRONT-LINE BASE, MARS**

 **A FEW HOURS LATER**

"You won't take any of the troops?"

It was just hours after Gjallarhorn's failed attempt at killing or capturing Kudelia Aina Berstein, who was using the Chryse Guards Security company to transport her to Earth in secrecy. The losses they suffered, however, were far too great for Major Coral to stomach. Nearly a third of their Mobile Workers were gone and they manage to lose an entire Mobile Suit to the enemy force. Adding insult to injury, the enemy even managed to heavily damage a second Mobile Suit.

The cost was of this battle high for the two remaining commanding officers of the Gjallarhorn's forces sent down to Mars.

Crank Zent felt the absolute worst when he realized the enemy they were fighting, were nothing more than child soldiers. The man had a rule against fighting them, always saying that they were never fighting for their own accord and were always being used by their employers to find any advantage at any cost.

He's seen thousands of these children die in battle against Gjallarhorn, who spared no mercy for the enemy, even if they were children. Just thinking about it made him sick to his stomach. However, Crank knew that the major had given them a suicidal mission to capture Kudelia or those with her before the arrival of the inspectors from Earth.

' _I simply can't ignore what Sirzechs told me, that Rias is potentially in that base. Does family not come first for what Sirzechs has planned in the coming days?_ ' Crank always knew his grandson despised Gjallarhorn with a burning hatred, but even Crank was convinced that this plan was created out of hatred.

Although when thinking about his own situation, it was only a matter of time until the situation is discovered and they would all bring shame to Gjallarhorn for what's happened. Realizing how they've been turned into glorified hitman for the Major.

As he was preparing himself for battle, Crank was trying his best to get Ein to understand the delicate scenario they're in right now.

"No, I will go alone," replied Crank, putting on his uniform jacket.

But Ein wasn't having any of that, "No way. Even our three machines were no match for them."

"I underestimated them," Crank admitted, knowing that most of the fault lies with the commanders who failed to understand their enemy. "I will not make that same mistake."

"Then take me at least!" exclaimed Ein, trying to figure out why his commander is behaving like this. What was the purpose of going out there and facing the enemy like this?! There had to be another way to accomplish their mission without having to sacrifice lives in this manner.

Crank then replied in a calm manner, "If you come with your injuries, you will only be a burden," he said.

"But..." Ein muttered, unable to find the words which matched his emotions.

"To fight children..." Crank said to himself, loud enough for Ein to hear.

As he's gotten older, Crank wanted to stop fighting as it's taken its toll on his body, mind, and spirit. There was a time in his life when he was energetic and jumped at the opportunity for combat, but that version of him has withered and faded away from existence. Only this weak and hesitant version of himself remains in this world.

It was time for him to accept that his time was coming to an end, he could feel it. But most of all, he wanted to take responsibility for their failure to carry out their orders with him, hoping that none of the men, especially Ein, weren't blamed and punished for this defeat. It was the reason why he was even heading out this late from the base.

Crank reached into his locker and had picked up a letter, one he had written for his grandchildren to read when they were old enough. It had been quite some time since he saw Sirzechs and Rias, but part of him couldn't face them after all that he's done. In reality, Crank felt like he was being punished for the sins he's committed of being part of Gjallarhorn for so long. As he placed the letter inside a pocket in his coat, the older man turned around when he heard Ein mutter his name.

He addressed the feelings of Ein, "Please allow me to do this. I do not want to bring disgrace to you as soldiers."

When he heard Ein call out to him again, the older soldier couldn't help but look at the pin in his hand. It resembled the horn that was part of Gjallarhorn's symbol. There was a time when he looked at the pin with pride for the organization he became a part of. Unfortunately, it was now looked at with fear and hatred throughout the solar system.

' _But if I have no choice but to fight..._ '

Crank Zent looked at Ein, realizing that this might be the last time he ever sees his student. "Ein..."

* * *

 **Shit, I said I was going to do shorter chapters for a bit and then my dumbass decided to write something that's about well over 10K. You know what? I give up at trying to make things easier for myself!**

 **In other news, I'm happy to give you guys another chapter to read. So enjoy it cause my schedule finally eased up a bit from school and work. This chapter certainly brought a few new things into the mix and I'm hoping you guys find them interesting.**

 **Until next time guys!**


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